College · Private nonprofit · Bethlehem, PA · City
Lehigh University
Bethlehem, PA
Admit rate26%
6-yr median pay$89k
Net price / yr$37k
Undergrad size5,898
§ I · The real read
What it's actually like.
The bet
Net price of $37k/yr for a shot at a $89k first-5-year salary. Math out whether that works for you — it does for some people, not for others.
Getting in
Admit rate of 26% means this is selective — grades, essays, and testing matter. Admitted students average SAT 1440 · ACT 32.
If you get in
5,898 undergrads. Small. You will know your cohort.
Where you live
City campus — public transit, off-campus food, weekends happen nearby.
§ II · Cost & aid
Sticker vs. real.
Sticker cost of attendance is $81k/yr. After need-based aid, the average student pays $37k/yr. Merit aid varies. Run your EFC calculator before you rule anything out.
Sticker · 4 yrs$323k
Before any aid.
Net · 4 yrs$148k
What the average student pays.
Typical aid$176k
Difference over 4 years — higher for lower-income households.
Payback1.7x
4-yr net price ÷ first-5-year salary. Lower is better.
Where the money goes · annual sticker.
- Tuition · in-state
- $65.0k
- Room & board
- $17.2k
- Books & supplies
- $1,000
How students pay for it.
Pell grants18%
Share of undergrads on federal Pell grants.
Federal loans37%
Share taking out federal student loans.
Median debt · grads$22k
What the median student owes at graduation. Non-completers: $8k.
3-yr default0%
Low — grads tend to pay on time.
§ III · Outcomes
Do people finish? Do they land?
1-yr retention93%
Very high — students stay.
Graduation · 6 yr88%
Most finish on time.
6-yr median pay$89k
Cross-major. Your major's number can be very different.
10-yr median pay$106k
Ten years out — where grads tend to land career-wise.
Transfer out0%
Share of full-time students who transfer to another school.
§ IV · Campus & identity
Setting, size, and who this school is.
- Setting
- City
- Control
- Private nonprofit
- Undergrad size
- 5,898
- Location
- Bethlehem, PA
- Region
- Mid East (DE, DC, MD, NJ, NY, PA)
- Carnegie class
- Doctoral Universities: High Research Activity (R2)
- Size & setting
- Four-year · medium · primarily residential
- Undergrad program
- Four-year · full-time, more selective, lower transfer-in
- Accreditor
- Middle States Commission on Higher Education
§ · Who studies here
The student body at a glance.
- White60%
- Hispanic11%
- Asian11%
- International7%
- Black5%
- Two or more races4%
- Unknown2%
First-gen students17%
Share whose parents didn't complete college.
Part-time1%
Mostly a full-time student body.
Median family income$91k
Of enrolled students' households — useful for aid context.
§ V · Majors offered here · 65
What you can study.