<p>I picked an LAC based on the fact that I do not know what I want to major in, and would like to try a variety of subjects out. There are many other reasons to go with an LAC. This includes financial aid and scholarships. IF I knew what I wanted to major in, a big university would make more sense.</p>
<p>I got in to Texas A&M and everyone got very excited. Then I got in to Baylor Honors college and everyone got very excited. (everyone would be relatives that are not my parents and teachers and friends). But when I told people that I had made the decision to go with Austin College, I suddenly got a lot of slack. Now I feel very insecure. I had already been looking over their website and picking courses I would take my first year. I was getting excited. I never liked TAMU. Every time I visited or tried to ask a question, no one had an answer. I liked Baylor, but we do not have the money for it and it is not like I liked it way better than Austin College. I would have been fine and great with Baylor, but the money is an issue. In fact, if I knew what I wanted to major in, I would have been fine with TAMU. But even with TAMU, money is an issue anyway. Austin College has already given me enough money that they will be about $10K less than TAMU per year, and I have a much better chance of graduating within 4 years (or even 3 because of AP credits). If money were not an issue, then my choice of school might be different. But I actually see a lot to like about Austin College, the school has a lot to offer. And because I have no clue what I want to major in, it makes way more sense than the other choices.</p>
<p>As long as Austin College has offerings in anything that you might major in, and is not too restrictive on declaring or changing major, and has reasonable cost, then it is a perfectly valid choice to consider.</p>
<p>LACs can be different enough from each other in academic and social characteristics that it is not a good idea to generalize about them. Considering the characteristics of the specific LAC (Austin College in your case) makes a lot more sense.</p>
<p>But what, ucb, if the LAC doesn’t offer everything the OP might be interested in. Let me play devil’s advocate here and argue for the benefits of a midsize university to the student who wants an LAC but doesn’t know what s/he wants to major in. The mid-size is going to have students that the OP knows who are taking coursework and getting excited about courses the OP might not come across at an LAC. There are, as you say, LACs that offer business, engineering, and even nursing schools, for instance, so OP might spread her search beyond the small LAC to an LAC that offers a field in which she now knows she might be interested. Does that seem sound? I don’t know anything about Austin College, so I’m not addressing that school.</p>
<p>“I never liked TAMU. Every time I visited or tried to ask a question, no one had an answer.”</p>
<p>There’s the answer. OP likes Austin College and doesn’t like TAMU. </p>
<p>LAC’s are a much better places for someone who is uncertain about what to major in. 1,300 students at Austin versus 56,000 at TAMU where OP may be lost amongst people without answers.</p>
<p>Obviously, the hypothetical student should be looking at other schools in this case. If the student wants a small school or LAC, then there should be others whose academic offerings have better coverage of subjects that the undecided student might be interested in.</p>
<p>@Undecided: many people will have opinions about where you’ll go to college. Most of those will be based on football. Now, will these people with opinions pay for your education? If not, just be polite. You’re making the best choice for yourself and for your family finances. Unless they’re willing to pay $10,000 a year for you to go to another school and explain why you should go, their opinion has no value over that of your family and teachers.
TAMU requires you to have a major. You’re undecided. In addition, you clearly want a smaller school. So, even if TAMU can be a great school for those “other people” 's children (and many others) , it’s not the school for you. In addition, it’s more expensive.
Austin college is one of the top LACs in Texas. It has an excellent record of getting people into med school or graduate school. Is it good at football? No. (Their mascot is a kangaroo :p). But if your goal in life isn’t to watch good football on Saturdays but rather focus on other aspects of college and possibly go to professional school, it’s an excellent choice. And on top of it, you get to minimize debt, which will come in handy when you want to start your life.
Baylor is better-known than Austin, but Austin isn’t any less good.
Baylor is Baptist whereas Austin is Presbyterian, so that may influence some people if you’re a Baptist. Other than that, your choice makes financial sense and seems to match what you want in a school. I don’t think “other people” who don’t know you as well as your family and teachers and have no stake in that $40,000 difference should have a say at all.
During your first year, explore various topics. Make sure to take a science class, a math class, a foreign language, a humanities class (ethics, philosophy, history…) and a social science class. Which ones did you like best and did best in? Meet with your adviser. See if they have “peer mentors” to whom you can talk. Austin has about 50 majors that I can see and some look really interesting so you should be covered.</p>
<p>I went to an LAC without knowing what I wanted to major in.</p>
<p>It’s true that a mid-sized university, and a large university even more, will have more majors to choose from. I argue that that could be a good thing or a bad thing. I was a very indecisive teenager - in the span of the three months before I went to college I changed my mind from biology to political science to sociology, and I also considered English and history (and my eventual major was none of those) - and there’s a distinct possibility that I would’ve gotten overwhelmed at a large university with the amount of choice. There simply wasn’t enough time to take courses in all of the subjects in which I was interested in my state’s flagship university. I thought I might be interested, maybe, in something like advertising or public relations, but for me going to a small LAC was worth more than the opportunity to major in a pre-professional field. Besides, most liberal arts majors can be parlayed into most fields.</p>
<p>Moreover, the common wisdom is when you’re choosing between majors to take a class in them and see what you like. At a small LAC, that intro to majors class is likely to be small - 15-20 people, 30 at most. At a large university, the intro to majors course may be 100-200+ people. For some students the latter is not a problem, but you sound like you want small, close-knit, discussion-based classes. That’s what made me fall in love with my field (psychology, is what I ended up in. I’m getting a PhD in it now).</p>
<p>Austin College also seems to have courses in some fields that most LACs do not, like nonprofit organizations, business administration, communications, media studies, international relations, and exercise science. They also have interesting area studies courses like Southwestern studies and Greek.</p>
<p>It sounds like you WANT to go to a small LAC, you specifically LIKE Austin College, and the financials make it smart for you to go there. So for anyone else who’s chiming in with an opinion and is not putting up any money, just smile and nod and thank them for their advice; don’t bother arguing with them, as they have no say in where you choose to go.</p>
<p>juillet, i like your reasoning. I don’t agree with your conclusion about LACs in general being preferable for the undecided, but I’m re-thinking my own reasoning.</p>