The Wall Street Journal/College Pulse 2024 Best Colleges in the U.S. ranking names Lehigh No. 14 in the country. Lehigh ranked No. 6 for Top Midsize Colleges in the Northeast.
According to the ranking, the America's Best Colleges 2024 "aims to guide prospective students across the nation while recognizing the colleges doing an outstanding job in higher education." The final ranking of the top 400 colleges was based on two pillars:
- Student and Alumni Survey: In one of the largest ever independent surveys of college students in the U.S., more than 60,000 undergraduates and recent undergraduate alumni were asked by College Pulse to provide feedback on colleges that are a great value to its students in terms of tuition, learning environment, degree completion, and the likelihood of a higher salary after graduation.
- Student Outcomes Metrics: The ranking used a variety of metrics around student outcomes to determine the salary impact vs. similar colleges, the number of years to pay off net price, and graduation rates vs. similar colleges. An assessment of level of diversity on campus was also a part of the analysis.
The ranking emphasizes how much a college improves its students’ chances of graduating on time, and how much it boosts the salaries they earn after graduation. According to the ranking, student outcomes—graduation rates, graduates’ salaries, and how salaries offset the cost of attaining an undergraduate degree—account for 70% of the score. Learning environment—including students’ evaluations of their school’s learning facilities and opportunities and how well it prepares them for a career, as well as how strongly they recommend the school—accounts for 20%. Diversity of a school’s students and faculty accounts for 10%.
Lehigh University’s distinctive academic programs attract a talented pool of prospective students. Prospective students looking for a more complete picture of Lehigh should connect with our Admissions office to answer questions, schedule a visit and attend an information session.