@MESMES that’s awesome. congrats!
Accepted To the College of Arts and Sciences with the Trustee’s Scholarship and a Lehigh Grant. I couldn’t be happier!
I’m an international student from India, currently studying in the IB Diploma Program.
Intended Major- Psychology
Stats:
ACT Composite- 34, Super Score- 35
SAT Math Level 2- 730
Class rank: N/A
If there are any other Indian students, please HMU.
My D was recently admitted, but like many of you it seems, received very little financial aid. Our FAFSA EFC is $15000 less than Lehigh is accounting for. We live in California and I’m guessing that they are basing their numbers off the equity we have in our home. Would it be worth it to appeal to the financial aid office, or even ask for the possibility of a merit scholarship? She has a 4.65 GPA and a 36 ACT with perfect AP SSAT and IB test scores. Thank you for your help.
^^what did their net price calculator say?
@beauchamp Many families do not realize that there are multiple methodologies used by colleges to take into account home equity for the purpose of financial aid. FAFSA schools don’t use this information at all but also give very little if any institutional financial aid. Some Profile schools also don’t use home equity in their calculation but this is a very small group. Some schools take into account the full home equity and therefore hit your financial aid pretty hard. Lastly is the group of schools, including Lehigh, that cap net home equity at a percentage of income. Lehigh’s web site indicates this multiple is 2.5x the parent’s income. Although this is typically better than using full net equity, many schools use a lower multiple including all of the Consensus Section 568 schools which use a multiple of 1.2. I’m assuming if one’s home equity is less than the income multiple, then the net home equity would be used. Obviously, if you have high home equity and a decent income, the difference in these multiples can greatly affect your FA. I’ve read that this is potentially a valid reason to appeal if handled correctly. Whether the school will make any changes is a different story.
Accepted. class ranked 2/80, 31 ACT, 98.2/100 GPA. Lots of ecs with a focus on art, medicine, and my family within the essays. From midwest.
Anyones acceptance packets come yet?
Overall admission stats do not tell you the specific info needed to fully understand what they represent. They don’t tell you which College and Major the applicant applied for. They do not tell you what the high school profile is. Most schools exercise some yield protection, and the stats posted above don’t seem unusual. Again, you don’t know what the rest of the application is telling you. Lehigh is a really small university. They have always kept their admit #s low. The school is not known for providing a ton of financial aid.
For folks who were not admitted, I am sorry. It is a tough process. Top schools all recognize that they have to reject many qualified applicants. There are many other wonderful schools. It is not a personal rejection, although I fully recognize that it feels that way right now.
As an alumna, I can tell you that if you were accepted, the education is incredible. But it is challenging. Looking over my old records, I found my grade reports (back when they were all carbon copy paper snail mailed). Starting class in Arts and Sciences was 497. Ending class was in the 260s. Grade deflation was very real. It was a lot of work. Many people didn’t make it. Engineering had even tougher results.
From a financial aid perspective, there are many schools that can provide an excellent education which give more merit aid, or are generally (much) cheaper. If you are in Engineering in particular, it can sometimes be hard to get out in 5 years. I have several friends who were super seniors who needed an extra semester to graduate due to changed majors. Make an informed decision and best of luck.
Waitlisted
SAT: 1330
GPA: 4.1 weighted
Very strong essay
2 sport varsity athlete
Accepted to Industrial and Systems Engineering but not IBE program. National Merit Finalist, 1540, 34, 9 APs, lots of community service and ECs.
The financial aid package was very disappointing, even with loans, they didn’t even come close to FAFSA EFC! Looks like my son is going elsewhere!
Does Lehigh have an honors program
Is it impossible to get off Lehigh’s waitlist?
@iappliedto25 My daughter’s packet arrived in the mail yesterday. We are in OH.
Parent of a Lehigh freshman. Congrats to the admitted students! It’s interesting to see that Lehigh is offering January admission, but I think I know why… My son had 3 of the 15 kids on his hall not return for second semester. He thinks that’s unusual, just based on his friends’ dorm halls, but lots of kids don’t return. It’s a rigorous school - and kids who fall into the partying can’t keep up. Son says 2 of the boys flunked out, and the 3rd was international and barely spoke English.
Imagine all the stress and $$ spent trying to find a good fit college for your kid and having them flunk out after 4 months!
@Leafyseadragon My son is a fourth year student in the IBE program. He signed on to taking what I’d describe as a service-oriented gap year between high school and his freshman year in great part due to the benefits that an additional year of growth might provide. (…mostly his parents’ belief, btw!) But what your son described is not just a Lehigh phenomenon. Some kids (mostly the dudes) are just not ready to hit the ground running upon their arrival on campus freshman year. That said, the school, I believe, boasts a 96% retention rate. So perhaps your son’s freshman hall was an anomaly.
Totally agree - tried to make that clear in my post. My kid is extremely happy there!
How is the social life at Lehigh? I have heard about all of the partying but other than that is there anything else to do? Im trying to decide between Lehigh and an honors program in an out of state flagship. Clearly the price from the public institution is much less but my parents are more focused on finding the best fit for me. Let me know If any of y’all have experiences to share id love to hear them.
When do the RD results come out on the portal?
They already came out
@Leafyseadragon That’s interesting to hear. It’s not uncommon for schools with an “active” social life, but a concern I have for my son. Did your son avoid Greek life? Also, I was wondering how your son feels about grading at Lehigh. I have heard that there is grade deflation and it is hard to get a good GPA.