Lehigh University
What Lehigh says
Exact quotes from Lehigh’s official pages, checked word for word on Oct 22, 2026.
Should students ultimately choose to take some time away from Lehigh for any reason, they must submit the Withdrawal/Leave of Absence (LOA) form below.
— studentaffairs.lehigh.edu ↗Leave of Absence requests should be submitted no later than one (1) week prior to the start of the term they wish to take the leave.
— studentaffairs.lehigh.edu ↗When you are ready to re-enroll, you must complete the Readmission Form.
— studentaffairs.lehigh.edu ↗The program of study and reason for the leave must be approved by the Committee on the Standing of Students.
— studentaffairs.lehigh.edu ↗Written by AI from the quotes and pages we read. It may be incomplete or wrong; the school’s own pages win.
- Lehigh appears to use a Withdrawal/Leave of Absence form through the Dean of Students.
- It looks due about a week before the term; spring 2027 would be roughly January 18.
- Returning seems to need a Readmission Form.
- Reasons accepted: dean's approval (Form says leave may be for any reason).
- Time away allowed: not stated on public pages.
- Classes start Jan 25.
Before you decide
Check on the following…
- Will my spot be held?Check how long your school keeps your place and whether you have to apply to come back.Ask: Registrar
- Will I graduate later?A term off can push back your graduation. Ask which required classes only run in the spring.Ask: Academic advisor
- Is there a deadline to ask?Some schools want your leave request before January. Find out the exact date and the form.Ask: Dean’s office or registrar
- What happens to my scholarships and aid?Ask whether your scholarships and grants pause while you’re away or end, and what you need to do to get them back.Ask: Financial aid office
- When would I have to start repaying loans?Student loans usually stop being deferred when you’re not enrolled. After a short grace period, often six months, payments can start.Ask: Financial aid office
- Will I still have health insurance?A student health plan usually needs you to be enrolled. Make sure you’re covered from January to April.Ask: Student health office
- What about my housing?Ask whether you can leave your housing contract without a penalty and whether you’ll get housing when you come back.Ask: Housing office
- I’m on a student visa. Does this affect it?For F-1 students, not enrolling usually ends your visa status. Talk to this office before anything else.Ask: International student office
Entrepreneurship center
- Baker Institute for Entrepreneurship, Creativity & Innovation ↗Lehigh's entrepreneurship hub: Eureka! venture development, Hatchery summer accelerator, LehighSiliconValley
- Lehigh Ventures Lab ↗Founders' Forge and Milestone Accelerator for students with scalable ventures; mentorship and funding access
Hard-tech team
- Lehigh Aerospace Club ↗Designs, builds and flies aircraft for the AIAA Design/Build/Fly competition
- Lehigh Baja ↗SAE Baja off-road vehicle team (listed on the MechE student organizations page)
- Lehigh Formula SAE (Lehigh Racing) ↗About 30 engineering and business students design, build and race a car each year
- Lehigh University Robotics Club ↗Robotics projects and annual competitions, open to all experience levels
CS club
- Lehigh ACM ↗ACM chapter open to all majors: ICPC, hackathons, workshops and speakers
Why 80
Spend the winter building. Southbound runs Jan 11 to Apr 11, 2027 in Miami. Acceptance is rolling.
What we could find (checked Oct 22, 2026). Not final: confirm dates and aid with your school before you act. Source pages look current for 2026–27. We date pages from server timestamps, page metadata, “last updated” text, PDF dates and the Wayback Machine.