Advertisement
Published: July 10th 2008
Edit Blog Post
Dear All,
The more schools I visit, the more I am convinced that there are so many schools that could be "great fits" for our students. Impressions of Lehigh, Lafayette and Muhlenburg follow.
Lehigh University (www.lehigh.edu)
Student Body Population--4800
Classroom Performance 90% of admitted students are in top tenth of high school
class
Mid 50% Test Scores (if required) SAT 1290-1400
% Out of State 75%
% Male 61%
Fifty miles south of Philly and 75 miles northeast of New York, this 1600 acre campus is simply spectacular in its beauty. The campus reminds me of Duke in terms of its architecture.
Tour
Our Information Session of approximately 40-50 students and parents was broken into approximately five smaller groups. I toured the campus with three other families and was led by Rachel. Note to Parents: Casual dress for tours is fine. A few parents dressed up (pants, nice shirt, skirt), but many wore comfortable clothes (shorts, shirt and tennis/walking shoes). Some students wore t-shirts, shorts and flip flops, but I would encourage "Christ School dress" especially if an interview is to follow the tour. Students were more actively engaged in the tours and asked questions.
You can skip StairMaster in your exercise routine the day you visit Lehigh; you will find yourself climbing enough stairs and walking hills once you get there. It is all worth it! With such a great first impression of the school, I asked Rachel if there was anything she did not like about the campus. She thought long and hard and finally responded, "The steep campus and cold weather were the only areas where I feel the school could improve. Everybody (students and professors) genuinely love Lehigh".
Most parents may be aware that Lee Iacoco, former CEO of Chrysler, is a graduate of Lehigh and you may also know of the school's strong engineering program. However, I discovered that Lehigh is strong across the board in number of areas. With four separate schools and 90 programs/majors from which to choose, you will find high achieving (SAT 1290-1400, ACT 29-32) and ambitious students who seem passionate about learning. Following their sophomore and junior years many students will, in fact, pursue research opportunities, internship or externship experiences in fields of interest to them, usually with the help of the Career Planning and Placement Office or with the help of a professor.
Take Aways From Campus Information Session and Tour
Professors really do seem to care about the students. My tour guide said it is not unheard of for professors to spend the night in their offices (really) the night before midterm exams to assist students who may need their help.
Lehigh is recognized as one of the Top Tier research institutions in the country.
Lee Iacoco said of his experience at Lehigh, " Lehigh taught me how to learn. I mean really learn."
Alumni value their education. Alumni Giving is among the Top 10 in the nation.
Numbers
150 different clubs and organizations
33% Greek
9:1 Student: Teacher Ratio, but freshmen intro classes could range from 80-200
25 Division I athletic teams
90% Accept Rate into Med School; 88% Accept Rate into Law School
95% of students stay on campus on the weekends
New $33 million Arts Center
Admissions Advice From Admissions Officer
In a student's senior year, complete both the CSS Profile (as soon after October 1) and FAFSA (as soon after January 1) using the previous years tax information. Not all schools require parents complete the CSS Profile.
Tuition, room and board is close to $47,000, but the average financial award is approximately $26,000
Lafayette College www.lafayette.edu
Student Body Population--2400
Classroom Performance 49% of admitted students have a 3.5 or higher gpa in high
school
Mid 50% Test Scores (if required) SAT 1180-1390 ACT 25-30
% Out of State 73%
% Male 53%
I met with the Dean of Enrollment Services, Roberto Noya, following a tour and quick lunch on campus at Gilbert's Cafe (eat here if you can for lunch). While Lafayette's Admission Office is not currently planning a visit to North Carolina this travel season, Mr. Noya hopes our students will consider making the trek north. He stresses the small school feel, its outstanding professors and the school's location as just a few of the many reasons why Lafayette could be the school of choice for many of our students.
My tour guide (Adam) reinforced much of what Mr. Noya and I discussed. Adam, is double majoring in Engineering and Philosophy and says he has been taught by some amazing professors. Similar to most tour guides I meet, Adam is involved. He takes the iniative, joining a club, participating in a fraternity and the intramural progams. As involved as he is, I found it interesting that while he was proud of the athletic program and social scene (Greek life), he was mosst proud of the education he was receiving. He spent more time showing us the engineering labs than he did to the school's athletic program. Such is rare on most tours which make a point of taking groups to the library, student center, dorm, classroom and athletic facility. Adam, like many students here, seem to have their priorities in order, but I still wish I had seen the athletic center/facilities especially when he talked up the rivalry between Lehigh and Lafayette. It reminded me of the Asheville School/Christ School rivalry.
Muhlenburg College www.muhlenburg.edu
Student Body Population--2400
Classroom Performance 80 % had 3.0 or higher high school gpa
Mid 50% Test Scores (if required) 1110-1310
% Out of State 91%
With more time in the day, I did drive over to Muhlenburg College. During my walk through (too late for a tour), I was impressed with the "friendliness factor" of admissions folks and with the few students I met on campus. All seemed to go out of their way to be helpful. I would imagine similar courtesy exists throughout the year. I was excited by what I saw (facilities, grounds, people) and encourage you to visit this school if/when you are in the area.
Will visit Univ. of Pennsylvania, Swarthmore and Haverford tomorrow. Signing off from the Muhlenburg Library computer.
Kirk
Advertisement
Tot: 0.07s; Tpl: 0.01s; cc: 11; qc: 51; dbt: 0.0421s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb