<p>I had dinner with some friends and family last night and the lately infamous discussion of colleges occurred. I'm currently set on attending a liberal arts college, as I believe in the philosophy that by attending a liberal arts college, you expand your horizons, learn things previously unknown to you, and ultimately arrive at conclusions about your future, where you want to go, where you've been, what you've learned etc.</p>
<p>That is all perfect and wonderful, but a liberal arts education is not cheap. Some of the more premier colleges have tuition prices of 30k-45k per year, and for what? For a student to learn from and among the best and brightest, yes, but where does a degree from an LAC lead? Sure, there's always graduate school, but aren't you then paying for another 2+ years of tuition at a most likely prestigious state school???</p>
<p>These questions may seem obscure, but I wanted your opinion. You see, last night I was challenged. Someone at dinner asked why I should spend that much money per year at an LAC just so I can broaden my horizons when I can just as easily get my core out of the way at my state university and learn what I want to study, THEN pay so much money a year for an LAC after university...It seems to be a fine point, does not? And perhaps it was the sudden intensity of the question, but I couldn't properly answer. </p>
<p>I would say that the advantage of an LAC is that you can learn among and from the best, expanding your horizons in an excellent undergrad institution, and taking that degree to an excellent grad school. </p>
<p>But isn't that possible at a state university? Is it worth the money?</p>
<p>State universities are usually bigger, and don't give you the small classes and interaction with professors that LACs do. So even if you did have a really great professor, you may only be actually seeing a TA. It really depends on what you want from college and what environment you are looking for, and what you want to do afterwards. If money is a huge concern, there are LAC's that are very generous with financial aid, and if you applied to a LAC that might be considered a safety you might end up with a scholarship.</p>
<p>No one can really answer that question for you. Many LACs offer merit aid so that the cost is actually less than that. As for what the experience is worth, the answer will be different for different people. I attended an LAC back in the day and would have been lost and out of place at a large state university. I loved my school. I got to know faculty members quite well and still stay in contact with a couple 30 years later. Some of my closest friends are people I went to college with. I don't know too many folks who attended state schools who develop those kinds of relationships and attachment to a place. </p>
<p>For us, it was worth it to spend that kind of money to send our sons to LACs. However, I also think they would have gotten fine educations had they attended our state U. It would be a very different experience, though. We definitely would be in much better financial shape had the 3 decided to attend state schools, but it is something that we had planned on for years so we were prepared to pay the costs. And we are not dipping into our retirement to do it. </p>
<p>So the question you need to ask is what financial impact will the higher cost have on your family? If you attend a higher priced LAC are you going to have to assume a great deal of debt? If your parents are willing to take on the cost of the higher priced school, then go. If you are expected to take on a high amount a debt, a state school is probably a better choice.</p>
<p>Here's an interesting way to look at it (although harsh).</p>
<ol>
<li><p>If you're going to just get an Undergraduate degree in some fields, the private "big name" schools prestige will help you to get a job in that field.</p></li>
<li><p>If you're going to move on to say graduate school, some private schools have connections that would help you to get in to a better graduate school.</p></li>
<li><p>If you're going to just take the basics (liberal education) and that's it, what would be that advantages of a private school.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>I think the other factors are what you want out of your first 4 years of school? Friendships/education/away from parents/independence/small setting/big city/little city/close to home/weather/things to do</p>
<p>A college is much much more than academics.</p>
<p>Ha. Not everyone pays $45k/yr for a nice liberal arts education!</p>
<p>Anyway, one of my kids chose a liberal arts college because he really wanted to be at a small school. He loves the discussion based classes, the fact that his largest class has been 20 kids, the fact that he really knows his profs, the fact that he's had opportunities he probably wouldn't have had as a small fish in a big pond.</p>
<p>Are there downsides to LAC? Heck yes! After 4 years maybe you'll be half crazy with the small school thing, or the cornfield thing, or just looking at the same old faces all the time. Maybe you'll long for a huge class - where you can sit in the back and just soak it up. Maybe you'll long for racial/ethnic/interest diversity. Maybe you'll long for big name cultural stuff. Maybe you'll long for a HUGE football game.</p>
<p>All good points.....except.....however I totally disagree with Shennie "Some of my closest friends are people I went to college with. I don't know too many folks who attended state schools who develop those kinds of relationships and attachment to a place." You don't have to go to a LAC to develop attachments and close friends.</p>
<p>First, you need to focus your thoughts on whether you want an education at a LAC versus at a larger University. That distinction has nothing to do with cost since a private but large university will always cost more in tuition and fees (not counting the financial aid component) than a State University.</p>
<p>It is not always true that LAC's provide "a student to learn from and among the best and brightest". That of course depends on the specific LAC in question. Thus, you need to compare your State U with specific LAC's that you wish to attend. </p>
<p>Some points to think about concerning aspects of a college education that go beyond learning the material:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Your career goals: You do have more accessible and personal advising at a LAC versus a larger U. Thus, if you are interested in a professional school afterward (Medical, Vet, Law, Business etc), you will find that many of the LAC's will provide you good advising. The same is true for graduate school in humanities and social sciences but less so in hard sciences, where State U's generally provide decent advising as well. That said, some of the larger private univerisites are just as good. As the old saying goes, you get what you pay for.</p></li>
<li><p>Your development in written and verbal communication skills. At LAC's you start off with small classes on day 1, and the professor will always be there in class discussions and he/she will be grading papers. This may or may not happen at a State U.</p></li>
<li><p>A professor's viewpoint. Education is more than just learning facts and figures. You need to learn to interpret them, to understand limitations within a line of reasoning, to assess alternative interpretations, etc. At a LAC, you have more accessible professors for you to interact and better likelihood that you develop critical thinking skills. </p></li>
</ol>
<p>That is not to say that you don't have similar opportunities at your State U. It depends very much on the school and your area of studies. For example, if you are an English major and an Echols Scholar at UVa, you may find many professors who may be as accessible to you as in a LAC.</p>
<p>Here is my bias though. If you are a very strong student, you can always benefit by being at a college where most students are also academically strong. Only a few State U's, however, could claim such a distinction.</p>