Lehigh University Admission Requirements for International Students 2027: Acceptance Rate, Tuition, Scholarships and Deadlines

Lehigh University admission requirements for international students follow the normal US pattern: apply through the Common App or Coalition with Scoir, answer the Lehigh questions and writing supplement, and send your school report, transcript, one teacher recommendation and the $75 fee. SAT and ACT are optional, and you need an English test unless English is your first language or the language of your last two years of school. Lehigh admitted 5,601 of 19,342 first-year applicants for fall 2025, an acceptance rate of about 29%, and it tied for No. 44 among National Universities in the U.S. News 2027 edition.

Lehigh is one of the few universities at this level that gives both need-based aid and merit scholarships to international students. It is need-aware for non-US citizens, so your ability to pay is part of the decision, but it aims to meet 100% of demonstrated need for as many admitted students as its funds allow, and merit awards run from $5,000 to full tuition. In 2025-26, 208 international undergraduates received Lehigh aid averaging $62,165. The 2026-27 cost is $89,820. For fall 2027 entry, Early Decision I closes on 1 November 2026, and Early Decision II and Regular Decision close on 1 January 2027.

Lehigh University at a glance

1. Ranking: No. 44 (tied) among National Universities, U.S. News 2027 edition (No. 46 in the 2026 edition).
2. Undergraduates: 5,986 in fall 2025, including 370 international (nonresident) students.
3. Acceptance rate: about 29% for fall 2025 first-years.
4. Cost for 2026-27: $89,820 for tuition, typical housing, food and fees; tuition alone is $69,420.
5. Need-based aid: open to international students; need-aware admission; aims to meet full need within limited funds.
6. Merit aid: $5,000 to full tuition, with no separate application.
7. Application fee: $75, with a waiver code for low-income international families.
8. Testing: SAT and ACT optional indefinitely.

Lehigh University ranking

In the U.S. News 2027 Best Colleges edition, released on 22 September 2026, Lehigh tied for No. 44 among National Universities, up from No. 46. It shares that spot with Case Western Reserve University. Nearby on the list are Northeastern (No. 42, tied) and the University of Rochester (No. 49).

Lehigh’s own news office also reports that TIME ranked it No. 21 in its America’s Best Colleges list for 2026-27, and the Wall Street Journal placed it No. 15 in its 2025 Best Colleges list.

Lehigh University acceptance rate and class profile

These numbers come from Lehigh’s Common Data Set 2025-26 and cover students who started in fall 2025.

Lehigh does not publish a separate rate for international applicants. Two things stand out. Early Decision admits a much larger share of its pool than the overall rate, and Lehigh fills a big part of its class that way. And the waitlist is long but rarely moves: only 80 of nearly 2,000 students who stayed on it were admitted. If Lehigh is your clear first choice and the aid numbers work for your family, ED is the round to use.

Lehigh University tuition for international students in 2026-27

Lehigh also counts $1,000 for books and $1,500 for personal costs when it works out aid, though these sit outside the $89,820 figure. Students in Engineering, Arts and Sciences or Health pay an extra $910 college fee. Travel is not covered by gift aid. So a realistic yearly budget is a little over $92,000 before flights.

Lehigh University scholarships for international students

Need-based aid

Lehigh treats you as international if you are not a US citizen; permanent residents apply as domestic students. For international applicants Lehigh is need-aware, meaning it looks at your ability to pay when deciding. It aims to meet 100% of demonstrated need, excluding travel and personal costs, for as many admitted students as its limited funds allow. There is no minimum family contribution.

To apply for need-based aid:

1. File the CSS Profile. The fee is $25. Lehigh does not give its CSS code on the international page, so search for Lehigh University inside the CSS Profile.
2. Or file the ISFAA if the CSS fee is a real hardship, uploaded through the Document Upload Center. Lehigh strongly prefers the CSS Profile because ISFAA places are few.
3. Send tax or income documents as requested.
4. Meet the aid deadline: 1 November 2026 for ED I, and 15 January 2027 for ED II and Regular Decision.

Aid offers made at admission are final. They change only if the cost of attendance goes up, not when your home currency falls against the dollar. Factor that into your planning if your currency is volatile.

The CDS shows how real this aid is: in 2025-26, 208 international undergraduates received Lehigh institutional aid, averaging $62,165 each. Lehigh also runs the Lehigh Commitment, under which students from families earning under $75,000 pay no tuition, but its pages do not say whether this applies to international students, so do not count on it.

Merit scholarships

Merit scholarships range from $5,000 a year to full tuition, and you are considered automatically. For 2025-26, 26% of admitted students received a merit award of $15,000 or more a year. Lehigh’s named awards include the Founder’s and Trustees’ Scholarships; the university does not list their amounts publicly.

Application fee waiver

International families who cannot contribute more than $10,000 a year and for whom the $75 fee is a hardship can use the code INTLwaiver2027 in the application.

Lehigh University admission requirements for international students: the application parts

1. Application: Common App or Coalition with Scoir, with the Lehigh Questions and Writing Supplement.
2. School Report with the counselor recommendation, and your official transcript.
3. One teacher recommendation.
4. Mid-year report and transcript after your first semester or term.
5. Final report and transcript after graduation.
6. $75 fee or a fee waiver.
7. English test results unless exempt.
8. CSS Profile or ISFAA if you need aid.
9. Early Decision Agreement for ED applicants.

Lehigh expects you to have finished, or be finishing, the schooling that qualifies you for university entry in your country. If you hold only O Level, GCSE or IGCSE results, apply during your final A Level year or its equivalent. You do not send bank statements with the application; Lehigh asks for them only after you are admitted and decide to enrol.

Testing policy

Lehigh has made SAT and ACT optional indefinitely. If you send scores, official reports must arrive before your first day of classes. Lehigh takes your highest section scores across dates. SAT and ACT scores cannot be used in place of an English test.

English requirements

You are exempt if English is your first language or if your last two full years of formal schooling were taught in English. Many applicants from English-medium systems, including much of anglophone Africa, qualify. Otherwise Lehigh prefers TOEFL or IELTS, and accepts TOEFL iBT Home Edition and Duolingo when those are not available.

Lehigh says the most competitive candidates score above 90 on TOEFL, 7.0 on IELTS or 120 on Duolingo. Scores must come straight from the testing agency before the application deadline.

Lehigh University deadlines for fall 2027

Lehigh’s requirements page lists days without years; for fall 2027 entry they fall as below.

Accelerated programme applicants cannot apply Early Decision.

How to write the Lehigh supplemental essays

Lehigh’s questions sit inside the application, and published summaries for 2026-27 describe short answers of up to 200 words each:

• How you first learned about Lehigh and what made you apply.
• What is something great happening in your life right now (Lehigh frames it as pausing to celebrate the good).
• How the college, programme, major or 4+1 route you picked will help you reach your goals. Some summaries list this only for certain programmes, so check what appears in your application.

How to approach them:

• For “how did you learn about Lehigh”, tell the real story briefly, then spend most of the words on why you applied: a programme, the size, the mix of business and engineering, or the research you want to join.
• For the “something great” prompt, choose something small and specific. A good result in a hard subject, a younger sibling learning to read, a project you finished. Warmth and detail count more than grandeur.
• For the major question, link a past experience to a specific Lehigh option and then to a goal.

Sample opening for the “something great” prompt, for illustration only:

“Last month my grandmother sent her first WhatsApp voice note without calling me for help. I had spent three Sundays teaching her…”

What happens after you apply

1. Portal and documents: check your Lehigh applicant portal for missing items and upload any ISFAA there.
2. Mid-year report: your counselor sends it after your first term.
3. Decision: mid-December for ED I, mid-February for ED II, late March for RD. Merit awards and aid offers come with admission.
4. Deposit: if you are admitted ED you must withdraw other applications and commit.
5. Financial documents: once you decide to enrol, Lehigh asks for a bank statement or certificate to issue your I-20.
6. Visa: pay the SEVIS fee and book your F-1 interview.

Common mistakes international applicants make

• Applying ED I without filing the CSS Profile by the same 1 November date.
• Expecting the aid offer to rise later because the naira, cedi or another currency fell. Lehigh does not adjust for exchange rates.
• Assuming the Lehigh Commitment (no tuition under $75,000 income) covers international students; Lehigh does not say so.
• Applying to an accelerated programme and Early Decision at the same time, which Lehigh does not allow.
• Sending a photocopy of a test result instead of an official score report.
• Writing the same long “why us” paragraph for all three short answers.

Costs that Lehigh aid does not cover

Lehigh’s gift aid excludes travel and personal expenses, so even a full-need package leaves you to pay for:

• Flights between home and Pennsylvania.
• Personal costs, which Lehigh puts at about $1,500 a year, and books at about $1,000.
• Visa and SEVIS fees.
• Health insurance if your package does not include it.
• Housing during breaks.
• Any rise in costs caused by a weaker home currency.

Graduate admissions at Lehigh

Graduate applicants apply to their department or college, for example the P.C. Rossin College of Engineering and Applied Science, the College of Business, the College of Education or the College of Arts and Sciences. Each sets its own deadlines and English rules; the graduate English standards are different from the undergraduate ones above. Lehigh had 615 international graduate students in 2024-25. PhD students are often funded through assistantships, while most master’s students pay their own way.

Majors and campus life at Lehigh

Lehigh has four undergraduate colleges: Arts and Sciences, Business, Engineering and Applied Science, and Health. It is best known for engineering, business and finance, and for programmes that mix the two. The campus sits on the hillside of South Mountain above Bethlehem, a small city in eastern Pennsylvania within driving distance of both New York City and Philadelphia, so expect hills and stairs. In 2024-25 Lehigh had 967 international students from 87 countries across all levels.

Lehigh University compared with similar colleges

Among these, Lehigh has the lowest published cost ($89,820 against Rochester’s $96,022 and BU’s $98,419) and the most generous mix of need-based and merit aid for international students. Its acceptance rate, about 29%, falls between BU’s 13% and Rochester’s 42%.

Who should apply to Lehigh

Apply if you want engineering, business, finance or a blend of them at a mid-sized university, you like a small-city campus, and you need some aid but can show what your family can pay. Lehigh suits applicants with strong grades who can make a clear case in short essays.

Think carefully if you need nearly full funding and are a borderline academic fit: need-aware review means high need with average grades is a hard combination. Add need-blind colleges such as MIT and Amherst, and check our list of the best American scholarships for international students.

FAQ on Lehigh University admission requirements for international students

What is the Lehigh University acceptance rate for international students?

Lehigh does not publish a separate international rate. Its overall first-year acceptance rate for fall 2025 was about 29% (5,601 of 19,342 applicants).

Does Lehigh give financial aid to international students?

Yes. Lehigh offers need-based aid to international students on a need-aware basis and merit scholarships from $5,000 to full tuition. In 2025-26, 208 international undergraduates received aid averaging $62,165.

How much is Lehigh tuition for international students?

Tuition for 2026-27 is $69,420. With typical housing, food and fees the total is $89,820, and Lehigh adds about $2,500 for books and personal costs when it calculates aid.

Does Lehigh accept Duolingo for international students?

Yes. Lehigh prefers TOEFL or IELTS but accepts Duolingo, and a score of 120 or above is considered strong.

Sources and updates

I checked every figure on Lehigh’s own pages on 29 October 2026: the admissions pages for international students, admissions requirements and tuition and affording college; Lehigh News’ March 2026 announcement of 2026-27 tuition and its report on the TIME ranking; and the Common Data Set 2025-26. The U.S. News profile page could not be opened, so the No. 44 rank and peer ranks come from Poets and Quants’ report of the 2027 edition. Essay prompts come from consultants’ summaries of the 2026-27 application and should be checked in the application. We update this guide when Lehigh changes its dates, costs or aid rules.

Jude Chinecherem

I am Jude Chinecherem, a final-year MBBS student at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. I know what it feels like to want an education your family cannot afford. When my parents could not pay for my schooling, I had to learn how to find scholarships and work the system out on my own, with nobody to guide me. I came out the other side, and now I share everything I learned so the next student does not have to figure it out alone. This is the advice I wish someone had given me back then.