Again - I truly appreciate the input and experience being offered. S is essentially a non-STEM oriented student in terms of higher skill sets and even more so in terms of academic interests. By selective school standards, he is below avg in math skills but uniquely strong in writing, reading comprehension, verbal abstract reasoning, etc. Mom and dad were fairly pedestrian state u students for undergrad and grad degrees; S has GPA, test scores, AP/Honors classes, EC’s and overall profile necessary to be a competitive candidate for selective colleges. Mom and dad are finding it challenging to be of much help in surveying the landscape of target schools and also in identifying specific options for programs of study.
S’s specific interests run towards creative writing, new media, journalism, comp lit. He’s also interested in what generally is included under the pre-law concentration. Lastly, he hopes to minor in Spanish. What has interested him most so far in looking through various target college catalogs are interdisciplinary degree programs, where he can build a Humanities BA or in some cases a double major scenario. He wants to keep things as broadly based as possible, as opposed to focusing solely on something like creative writing, comp lit, or media studies as an undergraduate degree.
What we’ve found in visiting a few of the LACs listed in the OP is that they seem to understand the type of student S is more than he does himself at this point… And much more than mom or dad do. This is what prompted my OP; a general feeling of not having a very firm handle on what differentiates these great LACs. We don’t want to make the mistake of seeing them as loosely interchangeable entities… Although the consensus above seems to point to that being more or less the case in terms of the 50% of each student body which falls under the liberal arts designation… Which Is where S seems to belong as a student.
Any input on the list of LAC’s, stronger/weaker programs associated with each, unique areas of study for this type of student, etc… would be very helpful and most appreciated. It’s always challenging when you “don’t know just what all you don’t know” about something. Many thanks.