Hello. I am currently in my second semester of college. I completed my first semester at a private college then transferred to my local community college. I am on track to finish the community college at the end of the year, therefore I am planning on transferring elsewhere in the Spring of 2026. That being said, is there any advice for transferring and any advice more specific to Lehigh? I am working on building up my extracurriculars and Lehigh is by far my top school. I also am working on showing demonstrated interest. My grades are pretty well and plan on only getting As at community college. I am touring in the upcoming weeks and plan on being the first to apply when the spring applications open up and as soon as I get accepted, would deposit. Any and all advice/tips is welcome! Feel free to ask any questions. Thank you!
Do you have financial concerns ?
They admitted 190 of 644 per the CDS.
If you are early in college, your hs record will likely matter.
I don’t know anything about you statistically but wish you luck.
What courses di you take first semester and what grades did you get? What classes are you taking now? What potential major would you apply for? What was your highschool unweighted GPA, any AP/SAT score?
Did you apply to Lehigh last year as a HS senior?
Familiarize yourself with the frat system there.
I did not. Quite a change of plans happened. I went to school for Professional Pilot. Left because the pilot program wasn’t what I expected at all. Very slow, expensive, and just a lower quality than I expected. I am still working on all my pilot ratings and certificates, but am now studying finance.
No financial concerns. Obviously, wouldn’t deny nor mind scholarships/grants. I am in my second semester of college, but plan on attending Lehigh once I have my AA from my local community college.
Will do!
The school I went to had a block schedule. So I only took like 3 classes. Two of which were aviation focused due to my major at the time. I also took a college algebra with finance class. It was essentially algebra with a few financial applications. It was the only class to transfer over to my community college. It came over as an elective and I got a B in it. At community college I have all As and plan on maintaining As in the rest of my courses. I am currently taking statistics, public speaking, financial accounting, computer information technology and literacy, principles of macroeconomics, and am looking to add intro to humanities. In high school my unweighted GPA was 3.5781 at the end of senior year. I took 11 ap classes. Passed 7 exams with a 3 or higher. My weighted gpa (district?) was a 6.4181. I had a handful of extracurriculars then, and am still working on maintaining/adding to my list of extracurriculars. At Lehigh, I plan on majoring in finance. SAT was 1270. 650 on the reading, 620 on the math. I think it is important to note that I should be done with my AA in December of this year, and would be at Lehigh for the spring of 2026. Therefore, I don’t know how important my HS stats would still be. I really want to go to Lehigh and am locking in to accomplish my goal.
I think Lehigh will be tough after one year of college. Better odds after two.
That’s ok.
Just have a balanced list. Many schools have finance.
And the first thing to familiarize with them, is it is a fraternity not frat.
(from someone who went there)
Well, that’s what’s really important, isn’t it? Especially with Lehigh’s history with fraternities.
Why lock in on one school? There are hundreds.
of places to study finance…why this one particular college?
Big fan of the location. Live in Florida but am from New Jersey. I like the northeast and eastern PA looks ideal for me. Handful of small airports nearby and Philly and NYC within reasonable distance. Lehigh has a name and I can really see myself enjoying my time there.
Yup. I agree and is why I plan on having my AA before going there. I definitely believe it will be a target/reach school for me, but I think it is pushing me to be better swell. I am working on a balanced list as well.
What is so important about the greek life there? I am genuinely curious. I definitely would consider joining a frat.
Thanks for the info.
It’s very helpful to answer your question.
Lehigh will be tough with that schedule - it’s not the classes they’d be expecting.
These are the classes you’d need to have before you transfer:
calculus1, calculus-based statistics& probability, accounting 1&2, college composition, micro economics (in addition to macroeconomics), intermediate micro economics (and/or intermediate macro economics), plus gen eds such as history, psychology, environmental science, etc., some with honors designation if your CC offers then and some with a global focus (can also be an intermediate level foreign language class).
Statistics, public speaking, financial accounting, computer information technology and literacy, principles of macroeconomics are all good but would be considered equivalent to the 1st semester at Lehigh. So, you really need to plan courses for this summer (microeconomics?) then 2 more semesters (Fall: calculus, intermediate macroeconomics, accounting 2, 2 gen eds including science and humanities; Spring: calculus based Statistics and probability, intermediate microeconomics, marketing, 2 more gen eds).
You would need to maintain As/A-s in all of them and continue being involved in clubs.
Rather than the AA, focus on classes that will be as close as possible as what freshman (and sophomore?) years at Lehigh would be.
Which other colleges would you apply to beside Lehigh?
MYOS1634, I really appreciate your insight. You can’t understand how grateful I am. I don’t really know where else I would like to go. I’m from NJ, but moved to FL for high school. I miss the north east and would like to go back up for college. I would consider Rutgers and maybe Seton Hall/Montclair State in NJ. Muhlenberg or Moravian, both in PA, are also potential universities. I would look into Providence, Fairfield, Boston College, or Boston University. The thing is I am a first generation college student and don’t have too much in the way of guidance. I try to do the right thing, but it can be quite difficult. I have an interest in Aviation and finance. I honestly want to be an airline pilot. I am working towards all my pilot ratings/certificates. The only reason I am going to college for finance is if anything happens, I have a back up plan. My dad wants me to go to somewhere that I would be able to get a good job if I went to that school.
I don’t want to introduce my bias, so I’ll just say that they’ve has problems with hazing, alcohol, and other behavioral issues. Start with a Google search. If you visit the campus, ask questions. All I’m saying is that whatever it is at Lehigh, it’s something you should be informed about in advance and should be comfortable with. Unfortunate because it has great academics.
I notice that you have Seton Hall on your list. It’s known as a suitcase school with lots of students leaving for home on weekends. One of my nieces transferred after freshman year because of this dynamic in the social life. Providence, a similar school on your list, has just the opposite reputation. Great social life. Several relatives went there and loved it.
I appreciate the response Bill! I definitely think having a transparent overview of all aspects of every school is important. Sadly, schools are a business and tend to mask their flaws. (I know this from being misled at my last school.) It is refreshing to know that providence isn’t such a commuter school. If everyone was going home for the weekends, I think it is safe to say I’d be pretty bored each weekend. Social life is important and has an influence on picking which school I’ll attend. Thank you for the insight!