Lehigh vs Union College (schenectady, ny)

Corbett
Sun, 29 Apr 2018 18:58:33 +0000

There is a apparently a $20k cost difference here, but it’s not clear whether Union costs more or less, or whether the difference is per year or for four years. If it’s $20k for four years, then a $5k per year difference may not be a significant factor. If it’s $20k per year, then that might be enough of a difference to go with the lower-cost option, whichever that is.

Costs aside, Union is basically a liberal arts college that also has a small engineering program. As with most LACs, you could expect small classes and close relationships with profs. LACs typically have a strong sense of community, in part because nearly all students live in campus housing. On the other hand, the BME engineering program seems small and may have relatively limited resources; College Navigator shows only 13 BME graduates last year. There are only a few other engineering majors available and no business school, so if you decide that you don’t actually like BME, the alternatives may be limited, unless you switch to liberal arts. No business-related minors, except economics. Union is close to Albany but not convenient to NYC or other major cities.

Lehigh is basically a small university, with twice as many undergrads as Union, and roughly equal enrollments in engineering, business, and liberal arts. It puts more emphasis on undergraduate education than most universities, so class sizes and sense of community are relatively good. Most students move off-campus as upperclassmen, but this is not a big deal, because there is lots of inexpensive housing adjacent to campus. Much larger engineering school, with lots of different majors. Also noted for interdisciplinary studies with business school; engineering students routinely add minors like business or entrepreneurship. Lehigh has frequent bus service to NYC and Philly, so it’s possible to spend Saturday in the Big City if you want to.

Both schools are roughly comparable in selectivity. Both are noted for an active Greek scene. Lehigh has Division I sports and a strong football tradition. Union is Division III except in hockey, where they play in Division I and have a strong tradition.

Both Schenectady NY and Bethlehem PA are “rust belt” cities that were hurt by the loss of manufacturing jobs. My impression is that Bethlehem is gradually recovering, and has improved noticeably over the past several years. Have not been in Schenectady recently.