My boy got accepted by both Lehigh Business school and Penn State Smeal business main campus, We are debating which one is a better choice. Pen State accepted him last year after two weeks he submitted the application. Students with SAT score at 1100 or lower were also got accepted. His SAT score is 1450, so we are thinking the pool of Penn State Smeal is quite mixed. So we are more lean toward Lehigh, by checking the ranking, USA news stated Penn State Smeal is better, but in other places, Lehigh is better. Can I get some advice? Thank you!
Define 4+1 - you mean an MBA? You don’t want a 5 year MBA. You want to work a few years and then get your MBA so that you can pivot to another role or make more money. Getting an MBA immediately after undergrad literally gets you crickets financially.
Don’t look at ranking - they’re meaningless. For example, the US News ranks use no data - they use peer reviews of professors and deans - which do they think are better. Selectivity? No. Career outcomes - no? Just which do you think is better in regards to for your student and for your financial future.
Yes, PSU is not a hard admit and Lehigh is - but that’s irrelevant and that’s not Smeal.
- Affordability - always affordability - which can you afford? And are you willing to afford?
- What majors are you interested in
- Where did the student feel comfort
The schools are so different - size, environment, location, etc - you should pick based on that. There is no right answer here but one may be more right for you.
This is Lehigh’s 2024 data. They report school wide a knowledge rate of 91% - so they are capturing most everyone. Only a couple % were not seeking. The link to PSU is below Lehigh.
Lehigh has overall better stats - in my opinion. But - guess what, there will be lots of PSU kids that outperform Lehigh kids. And a lot depends on major too.
Two great admits - choose the one that feels best. Don’t worry about selectivity nor rank.
Forget the rankings – both are very fine schools. No recruiting professional or grad school admission officer will be checking the latest rankings before extending offers.
Assuming both options are comfortably affordable (no hardship, no or minimal loans) go with the school the student prefers. Consider academics, social fit, environment, size of school, etc. Fit is important.
Congrats on the options!
Need more information regarding Lehigh 4+1 and with respect to your son’s career goals and preferences. Also, is there a significant cost difference for each school ?
If I understand correctly, Lehigh’s 4+1 program is for non-business majors only (but I may not be correct). Can you clarify ?
Yes, there is a huge difference in cost, Lehigh is twice of PennState.
Lehigh 4 plus 1 masters of science in business analytics.
Are both comfortably affordable (no hardship, no or minimal loans)?
Does the student have a preference?
If the money is an issue and the student likes the environment then Penn State is the logical option. If both are comfortably affordable and the fit at Lehigh is better then that option should be seriously considered.
Everyone is offering a one year of 16 months data analytics masters - Brown, UNC - I don’t see that as a pull. I get solicited regularly for these.
Can you afford Lehigh? Is that 5th year free?
If you can’t afford Lehigh without strain, I’d go Penn State. If you can afford Lehigh, let the student decide.
I don’t see anything special about the +1 - you can do that at many schools - so I don’t see what’s accelerated.
Good luck.
Congratulations to your S on these acceptances.
Would you need to take out loans greater than the $27K total undergrad federal loans for Lehigh?
I just looked at the outcomes for the MS in data analytics, and average salary (2024) was $72K, that’s lower than some business majors after a BS, per tsbna’s link above. Paying for an extra year of school AND not be able to earn income for that outcome is questionable IMO. Does he have to do the +1 at Lehigh or can he drop that, if he decides that’s best?
I wouldn’t worry about this. And I assume students with that test score applied test optional to Smeal.
I agree with others to let your son choose, assuming you don’t need to take out debt beyond the student loans for Lehigh.
I can affirm with 100% certainty that either the 1100 SAT kids were admitted to a branch campus (/didn’t specify where to their friends - VERY common because after all it “counts”) or didn’t submit that score and had straight As in AP/honors courses. Kids applying to Smeal hesitate if they have a 1350…
Until this year, it was the hardest college at UP to get into after Nursing (which has a 5% acceptance rate, being Direct Admit). Yes, harder than the AI and ISt majors, harder than Engineering, harder than analytics.
They changed the process because a lot of Smeal would-be majors simply applied DUS since it was an easier admit and the same path - now you have to be admitted to Smeal and complete specific classes your first year.
It’s easy to get into Penn State as long as you’re fine going anywhere - there are 18 campuses and most of those are basically open access 2-year colleges. A few are relatively selective (3.0-3.4 GPA, 1000-1200 SAT) with dorms and real 4-year majors: Abington, Altoona, Behrend, Harrisburg). Getting into UP is another matter - you can check out the Penn State Forum here.
He shouldn’t expect Smeal students to be slouches and the core premajor classes to be “easy” compared to Lehigh. LOTS of kids in the 1400-1500 range, 4 years of a foreign language, calculus.
Supply Chain Management, a highly recruited major, is among the best nationally.
Btw wrt Analytics there’s a Smeal-dedicated minor in IST.
Note: there’s a Business Living Learning community. Highly recommended.
Did he get into Sapphire?
1 Like
Lehigh is more competitive institution for sure, but a lot depends on your criteria. If you guys are chasing prestige only, go with Lehigh. If you care about other things, please share them here, so that people can provide more relevant information.
We do care about Prestige. Also, how easy to get an internship and job? Do you think Lehigh has a better chance than Penn State?
- No one gives you an internship or job - that’s up to your kid.
- What kind of job do you seek?
If I cared about prestige - and you know that’s a made up thing but it means different things to different people - I’d pick PSU.
Why? Everyone know Penn State - We are, Penn State
Outside of the NE - if 20% of people know about Lehigh, I’d be shocked. And 90% of those people would think it’s an engineering school.
If you compare these to the Lehigh stats above (post 2), they are quite similar. Lehigh average looks higher because they are including the CS/Business majors and the IBI majors (engineering and business).
One might like Lehigh better - the size, the eeriness of the campus (it looks like they can film a horror movie there), the location, etc. I get that.
But bang for the buck - it’s not even close. And as a bonus, they have ice cream made on campus and Old Main is - wow - how great to see that on your walk every day?
2 Likes
I really think this is very student dependent. No college will serve internship/job on a silver plate. Student has to work for it. If money is completely out of consideration, I would go with Lehigh.
We can afford Lehigh, but the cost of Lehigh is double of Penn State. By reading all the above, I am not sure if Lehigh is worth of that price comparing with Penn State. If it is U Penn, it is worth it. Lehigh, not so sure…
You said prestige matters.
If both were the same price, PSU would be my pick - for reasons stated above.
Lehigh is only better if either the IBE major - or the campus/environment is better.
But head to head, PSU is better - taking money out of the equation because if nothing else, it gives you nationwide notoriety whereas Lehigh doesn’t.
You’re really over thinking though. You don’t want to pay for Lehigh - so unless the kid is allergic to PSU or you have another school, you made your decision based on a financial metric - which is how many families decide.
1 Like
I agree with you on all points.
I think if her kid was allergic to PSU, he would not be applying there 
You are kidding. He is not allergic to PSU…..
He also likes PSU. He did a summer project with Lehigh, so he feels he has a little more connection with Lehigh.
Thank you very much!
It’s not me. It’s the person I quoted .
I think she was basically saying “unless the kid hates PSU” and my reply was that if the kid hated the place he would not be applying there .
Like people noted, both are fine institutions. Yes, the range of levels is probably wider at PSU but I agree with LisaRich, Lehigh is not worth double the price.
PS. As long as your son is OK with huge college and it’s culture/vibe.