I'm a high school senior going through the process of selecting colleges. Lehigh is one of my top options, but I was unsure of its placement in IB/Consulting. Ideally, I'd like to work in consulting but also like IB to a lesser extent. I'd be in the IBE program majoring in MechE and Finance.
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Alumnus here. You can definitely break in if you put in some effort - the alumni network is pretty good and most folks are responsive/happy to connect. I don't know what campus recruiting is like these days but historically it hasn't been the strongest. IBE kids definitely have an advantage as y'all are seen as the smart ones (for good reason, that program is no joke). It's also a fucking great time. Beautiful campus. Location makes for easy day trips to NY/Philly.
And fuck Lafayette.
Sounds pretty damn good to me. Only wish it wasn't so expensive.
Fellow Alum here, mind sending me a quick PM? Have an off topic question. Thanks!
I’m an alum… if you’re dead set on IB I wouldn’t go there. Caveat that I graduated in 2014, so things may have changed, but Lehigh is more known for placing kids into the Big 4. Not a knock on that, it’s where I started my career, but looking back I wish I would have done IB right out of college. You’ll get a better crack at IB from some other slightly higher ranked schools.
That being said, the location of the school is awesome, it’s a kick-ass time, and the work hard/party hard culture will take you far. I wouldn’t trade it for anything.
I'm hoping to get into either Dartmouth, Duke, or Cornell, but if I can't get into any of those, Lehigh seems like a solid option. It seems to be a great environment with plenty of opportunity. I'm not dead set on IB, I'd actually prefer something along the lines of consulting but that will be even harder to get.
Current Lehigh Student.
First off as others have said Lehigh is a great fucking time. Work hard/ play harder.
Assuming you only care about the placement I would consider it an upper nontarget.
Quite a few kids go IB each year, mostly MM but some to EBs and BBs. Citi recruits on campus for IB, which is big for a nontarget.
As for consulting, i think West Monroe, FTI, and the big 4 recruits on campus. I know someone who will be joining an MBB.
The key is that 95% of your recruiting will be through networking. Its not like targets where the career fair is filled with BBs, EBs and MBB
I like to think anything is possible from Lehigh, but it's just a slightly uphill battle. You will need a high GPA and have to grind the network of alumni. Its more than possible to land a front office job from here, and if people tell you otherwise they are probably didn't try as hard as they should have. There are also solid middle/back office gigs or FP&As that most students end up going to.
My personal recruiting from Lehigh:
Accepted a summer analyst position in IB at a mid-BB.
Places I was able to land human 1 on 1 interview: Amazon (business unit), Mid BBs (IB), Oppenheimer (IB), BofA (Credit), Prudential (Credit), West Monroe (Consulting), FTI (Consulting), Big 4 (advisory), Goldman Sachs (controllers) a bunch of other F500s, and some other no-name shops.
I did not get an interview at any top BBs, EBs, or an MBB but I am very happy with my situation
From your experience how much debt do you think Lehigh is worth?
I will graduate with around 80k in debt, the majority in private loans. I think the answer depends on how much your parents are willing to help. My 80k is all for me and will have to be paid with my post-grad income.
the 80k really stressed me out. I knew I was fucked if I didn't get a good job and honestly that fear was my biggest motivator and why I probably ended up with a decent offer. If you are dead set on IB or Consulting and really grind and end up getting a good job I would say a debt-to-income ratio of 1:1 is ok. So this could be around 110k-140k depending on the role and bonus you get. The really important thing here is that you might not get that great job... or a job at all. Its a huge risk
another thing is I wouldn't shell out full tuition if you could go to a decent state school for half the price.
Alumni here. It will be an uphill battle if you are dead set on investment banking. However, a bunch of kids do get placed every year especially if you did the Dryfus Fund. You definitely need to start networking and recruiting as early as possible if you want a placement out of college. The career office is a joke and they just want to send as many people as possible to big 4 cause its good enough, so you have to do the work recruiting/networking yourself.
On the brightside, a ton of alumni end of in IB /PE/ Direct Lenders after a few years pivoting from their first job. The Lehigh degree defiantly won't be seen as a negative anywhere in the industry and there is a strong alumni network especially for those that hustle to get a better position.
Much Appreciated. Long term does a degree from Lehigh open up more doors than say one from Penn State or Temple? Those options are much cheaper for me, but I prefer the environment and opportunities that Lehigh has I'm just worried about paying it off.
go to penn state for sure. better college experience, more alumni on the street, you'll save a lot more money, and they have a great student mangement fund and banking club that places well in NYC. no brainer if ur looking for value
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