Hi, I am a current student at Lehigh. I can really only comment on Lehigh and Lafayette- my friend goes there and I’ve visited/hung out there many times while at school.
I general, very different schools but both have great engineering programs. I’m a freshman in the business school, but many of my friends are engineers with no complaints. The one thing I’ve heard was from a junior who felt it wasn’t as cutting edge as some other programs. However, there are many research opportunities.
I think the biggest thing to consider would be the social aspect of the school. How big do you want your school to be? It may sound just like numbers but it has a HUGE impact on your experience. My friend at laf already feels in her first year that she knows everybody or knows of everybody. Would you be comfortable with this? Lehigh is bigger so you have more options. Also please consider the hill. It can be EXHAUSTING and does have an impact on how people go about their day. Ex: not going back to their dorm at all during the day.
Lehigh’s social scene is hard to comment on right now… we just got out of a huge greek life shut down which totally changed social life from frat parties to dorm parties (especially for freshman). None of us are sure what it will look like next year. There are parties outside of greek though: athletes (exclusive), student-run clubs etc. Laf has a bigger bar scene for undergrads as their bars are not as strict about letting underage kids in. I’ve noticed laf kids tend to be a bit nerdier, but both student populations are equally smart. Hope this helps 