How to strengthen your Lehigh application

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Best application round for you

ED rate (52.1%) is materially higher than RD (29.0%). If Lehigh is your top choice and you can commit financially, this is the highest-leverage round.

What Lehigh weights most

Lehigh prioritizes students who demonstrate strong quantitative preparation and a clear fit for its engineering, business, or integrated programs, plus evidence of purposeful extracurricular depth rather than superficial breadth. Admissions favors applicants who show project-based initiative - research, engineering competitions, startup ventures, or sustained leadership in finance/entrepreneurial clubs - and is more forgiving of nontraditional course loads (e.g., applied math, engineering-focused electives) than liberal-arts-focused peers, but stricter on demonstrated STEM readiness and grades in math/science. Fit with Lehigh’s collaborative, Greek-heavy social culture matters; applicants who signal comfort with close-knit residential life and active campus organizations will stand out.

Supplemental essay strategy

For the Lehigh supplemental, be explicit about which of Lehigh’s programs, labs, or cross-college offerings you will use, name specific faculty, the Mountaintop Honors College, Integrated Business + Engineering (IBE) or particular labs like the Integrated Health Lab, and tie them to a concrete project you want to pursue. If applying to engineering or business, show prior technical or entrepreneurial outcomes and explain how Lehigh’s project-based curricula and close industry connections will let you scale that work, rather than offering generic praise about campus community.

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Where to focus next

If you only have time for one thing this month, do this:

1. Read 2 admitted-student essays from Lehigh (search official admissions site or Reddit r/lehigh). Notice the level of specificity — that's the bar.
2. Write the ‘why this school’ supplement first, before anything else. If you can't fill 250 words with school-specific reasons, pick a different school.
3. Find one current student to ask about their experience — admissions offices often connect prospective applicants with current students. The follow-up email becomes specific essay material.