<p>I'm from Australia and I'm not really familiar with the liberal arts system. I think I understand the basics- but I may have misunderstood. Does a liberal arts degree involve pursuing studies in a variety of subjects across arts and sciences? If you major in say, history, do you still do, for example, astronomy?
Also- are there subjects liberal arts colleges want you to have done in high school? I don't do any lab type formal sciences. I do IB and as part of that I do ESS (environmental systems and societies) which is kind of like ecology but with some humanities mixed in- would this be typically be acceptable for a liberal arts application?
Below are what I'm aiming for in terms of stats:
IB 40+ (hopefully 42)
SATs 2000+ (possible 2200+) (I've yet to do more research into which tests to sit and the scoring but I know what I think I should aim for)
ACT- 30+
ECs are where I think I lack quite a bit- for the IB you're required to do 150 hours of community service + EC type things but I'm not sure if this will be enough and I haven't done much of this yet. One of the things I can get involved with involve tutoring younger students and another thing that I AM involved with is a group at my school that writes articles about events around the school and so on for the school website and newsletter- I think this might be helpful considering I'm leaning towards a journalism major.
I'll probably try and get some more ECs soon
Also- my family is mid-high income but we have quite a bit of debt (multiple sources) and I doubt my parents could afford college in the US at all
So, I'm hoping for a full ride or at least full tuition scholarship to a liberal arts college- I'm thinking of aiming for colleges that are somewhat below my stats (safeties) and hope that gets me a scholarship. Does anyone know of liberal arts colleges I'd be likely to get into with the stats I'm aiming for?
I'm still just planning this out in terms of what I might do- I haven't even talked to my parents about it yet because I want to get my head around my options etc.
:)</p>
<p>IB will prepare you for a LAC.</p>
<p>Many of CTCL colleges would offer merit aid in the range of those stats.</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.ctcl.org”>www.ctcl.org</a></p>
<p>First let me try to clear up some confusion about what “liberal arts” means in America. There’s “the liberal arts” as a category of academic disciplines and there’s “liberal arts college” as a category of college types. </p>
<p>Large research universities often have liberal arts colleges or schools which offer bachelors in humanities, sciences and social sciences. These are separate from undergraduate and graduate professional schools within the university like business, law, medicine, engineering, architecture. </p>
<p>A small liberal arts college (or LAC) is mostly focused on undergraduate liberal arts education, characterized by small classes with lots of personal attention. Small LACs have no or limited graduate or professional schools, but otherwise their liberal arts program is more or less the same as what you’d get at a large university.</p>
<p>The great majority of students who enter college in the U.S. are liberal arts majors, but they may attend both large to medium universities and small LACs. </p>
<p>So in answer to your question yes, if you major in one of the liberal arts – humanities, science, social sciences – you will be able to take courses in other liberal arts disciplines. Some colleges require a balanced course load, some do not. Usually you don’t have to declare your major until the end of your sophomore year, which allows some room for experimentation.</p>
<p>It’s difficult for internationals to get aid of any type from U.S. colleges and merit aid is especially scarce. The first step would be to ask your parents to use a net price calculator to get an understanding of how much aid an American student might receive with a similar background. Then you can check each college’s policy toward need based aid internationals and see if that works.</p>
<p>If it turns out that you really need merit aid, then you’ll have to do some serious research on which colleges/universities offer merit to internationals and what they’re looking for. I’d suggest that you post on the financial aid or international boards on this site. Leave the “liberal arts” qualifier out of your question, though, assuming that you don’t want to be limited to small LACs.</p>
<p>U.S. colleges will look more at your grades than your IB scores. Some hard sciences like biology, chemistry, physics are preferred in admissions. You can check each college’s requirements.</p>
<p>If other students from your school have attended U.S. universities you might see how your background compares to theirs.</p>
<p>For merit money you will either need tip-top grades and scores or some activity, talent or demographic that sets you above other applicants. think of it as what you can contribute to the campus community.</p>
<p>This organization can be helpful: <a href=“http://www.educationusa.info/australia”>http://www.educationusa.info/australia</a></p>