<p>DH and I both attended large public universities. Our oldest is now attending a private university. However our next one to graduate from HS is looking strongly at several small LACs. This is new territory for us.</p>
<p>With this in mind, do any of you who are LAC grads have regrets? Specifically, do you feel that your job prospects/preparation were equal, better or worse than those who graduated from large universities? What about social and other factors?</p>
<p>I don’t regret it at all. I feel my education was exceptional; I graduated and was hired by one of the top paying school districts in the entire country. Being at a small LAC allowed me to have opportunities without a lot of associated 'red tape". I also got to know my classmates and upper classmen really well; our alumnae association is very strong and networking for professional and social reasons is made that much more effective due to the strong bonds made during college. Even if you never met before, alums from my LAC feel like an immediate connection when meeting at conferences, etc.</p>
<p>I would say that job prospects from the LAC in our area are much better than those from any of the state universities. The alumni groups are stronger, the programs are generally considered better and most of the businesses around here do most of their recruiting on the LAC campuses.</p>
<p>We never lacked for things to do on campus, all of which was free. Getting into classes was simple and never an issue and most prof’s were open to adding more students if necessary. Classes were all taught by full professors, no TA’s or Grad assistants. You had easy access to the prof’s if you needed help. Classes were very small. I think the biggest class I had was 45 kids (school with about 5000 students). Acceptance rates into med schools/law schools/grad schools was far above that at the flagship.</p>
<p>I would not consider a LAC for very technical fields like engineering unless they have some sort of 3-2 program with an engineering school. There were plenty of engineering students that did just that (and had a master’s degree when they were done) from our school though.</p>
<p>I guess I don’t understand the hesitation.</p>
<p>^ SteveMA - The hesitation comes from the fact that S has expressed in interest in some aspect of business. He’s not sure though. I know one can major in accounting, computer science and econ at an LAC. But are these LAC majors discounted by an employer in comparison to a full-blown business degree from a nationally well-regarded public university? </p>
<p>We are just trying to figure out how to give him the best guidance. It’s just tricky when a kid likes the idea of business but also loves the thought of a small, nurturing LAC community.</p>
<p>Everyone in my immediate family (wife and kids) went to mid-sized private research universities, and my sisters went to similar colleges or, in one case, a large public. But my parents, many other relatives, and many friends and children of friends went to LACs. And although I didn’t choose that option for myself, I think it’s fair to say that I know many more people who wish they had gone to LACs than people who wish they hadn’t. In fact, I don’t think I know ANYONE who regrets having gone to a LAC, although a couple friends of my kids were ready to leave maybe a little before they were done.</p>
<p>In my own case, I think that had I gone to a LAC, my education would have been less sophisticated, but probably more fundamentally sound. I would have fewer stories to tell in which I name-check famous people in the field I studied, but might not have had to work as hard to un-learn some bad habits I picked up.</p>
<p>My son applied to PhD programs when he was a college senior. His university is world-renowned in the field he wanted to study; he had recommendations from stars. The program that matched up best with his interests only took two people directly out of college, and they were both from LACs. As it happens, a close friend read both my son’s honors thesis and the honors thesis of one of the successful LAC candidates, and she said they were of very comparable quality, but the LAC student’s was a little more interesting and more unique. So . . . that’s anecdotal, but telling.</p>
<p>Among my kids’ friends now, the one who is coming closest to achieving an impossible dream comes out of a LAC. I can’t give too many details, because the situation is too specific. But this is a woman who wants to work in a field with essentially no women, and literally thousands of applicants for any of the very few jobs that open up. 18 months (and two paid internships) out of college, she was playing multiple permanent job offers off against one another. She used alumni contacts extensively when she was trying to get her first toehold internship. Her boyfriend, a college classmate, is at Harvard Law School. It’s pretty hard to look at them and think that going to a LAC limits your possibilities.</p>
<p>cbug–the best business school in our state is at a LAC. I know several major businesses that almost exclusively recruit at that school because of their reputation. DH was an econ grad from our LAC and has done quite well for himself. He was highly recruited out of college for jobs (and still is). They do have business majors at most LAC and honestly, I think in the 'real" world, a “business” degree is kind of looked down upon vs a degree in Econ or Accounting or Computer Science. It’s seen, around here anyway, as a pretty soft major no matter where you go. That might be different where you are though.</p>
<p>The son of a good friend - now in his late 20s - regrets going to his small, very respected, east coast LAC. He chose it because it felt intimate, but by mid-year as a sophomore he felt stifled - just too small. He chose it because it has a very good history department, but he ended up going into computer science, which was limited at this school. The campus was somewhat isolated, which also limited his internship/part time job opportunities in computer science. In the end, he did finish up there, but now works on the west coast, in computers. Today he says that a larger university in a more urban setting would have been a more enriching/challenging environment.</p>
<p>That said, he admits most of his friends at said LAC liked it, and are doing well job/grad-school wise.</p>
<p>I don’t know if you are looking for more recent anecdotal information who simply any information but I don’t regret my degree from an LAC at all. At the time I graduated it has a 98% acceptance rate into grad schools and the rate today is still very, very high. LACs are not “career prep” in the sense that you graduate with an engineering degree and then you are an engineer. People that think college = career = job will probably not understand a true LAC. That said…there are definitely hybrids these days with business degrees and engineering degrees sitting alongside a traditional liberal education.</p>
<p>^ “People that think college = career = job will probably not understand a true LAC.”</p>
<p>So then what does an LAC = to you?</p>
<p>I have no regrets about my LAC education. The small classes, opportunities for all sorts of free cultural activies and the great time with my ECs. I was extremely well prepared for grad school and in some ways found grad school easier than undergrad because I had less ECs which gave me more time to focus on work.</p>
<p>Also loved my LAC undergrad experience and wouldn’t trade it for a thing. Attended a big state U grad school and can’t imagine having gone there for undergrad.</p>
<p>I suspect that LACs are not as good a choice if you a) want a career as an academic – at least relative to attending a top notch research university like JHS was describing; or b) if you want to go really deeply into any subject. They won’t have the faculty depth for the latter nor the uber-famous scholars who can serve as advisors and recommenders (if they deign to talk to undergraduates, which they don’t necessarily do at research universities) for the latter. </p>
<p>My daughter transferred from a large public school to an LAC after one semester and is much happier, though she also switched her field of study from biology to nursing. But, she loves the much smaller classes and the fact that the professors know who she is.</p>
<p>Similarly, I attended three of HYPMS and taught at one. I loved my undergraduate school and had a great experience. Nonetheless, I am very impressed by the quality of education and teacher attention my son is getting at a highly-ranked LAC. He would not get that kind of attention at any of the schools I was associated with, except perhaps as a senior writing a thesis. </p>
<p>I’m with SteveMA. I think that an undergraduate education should be more about thinking and less about subject matter knowledge (like what you get in an undergraduate business degree). In one of the businesses I started, we hired out of undergraduate school and found the weakest candidates were undergraduate business majors. I don’t think the UG business majors are as likely to rise to the high end of companies and are more likely to be in functional areas, but may be more employable out of the box. One option would be attending a school he likes, majoring in something that teaches him to think and solve problems, and take an accounting course or maybe some other kind of course over the summer. As SteveMA suggests, this might be specific to the Northeast.</p>
<p>In my son’s case, I’ve advised him to take a math/stats course each semester in addition to his main field of interest in economics/psychology. There is a simple financial modeling course taught over a weekend and I’ve suggested he take it as well.</p>
<p>I got a great education at my LAC (#1 LAC!) If I had to do it again, I’d do the LAC thing again, though I’d probably choose a different one.</p>
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<p>It gave me the opportunity to develop very good critical thinking skills. I learned that it is better to ask the right question sometimes than to have the right answer. I learned how to be comfortable talking on many levels over many topics. Basically I learned how to think critically, talk eloquently and write in many styles. Absolutely essential skills in modern business. So in a 'round about way it does prepare you for a career or advanced degree ala LAC = career… just not as a technician or specialist. So to me, LAC = broadly applicable skills</p>
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There are a fair number of LACs or mid-size schools with business majors … Skidmore and Ithaca are two examples … some time with an old fashion fat school guide might be time well spent (looking at all the LACs to see which one have business majors) … I recommend the old fashioned paper book because I’ve found it faster and more complete then trying to look up schools up one-by-one on-line.</p>
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<p>Not true. It depends entirely on what you are studying. My undergraduate degree in English literature from a top-ranked LAC got me my graduate school fellowship. The other thing to consider is that large universities, even top-ranked ones, star faculty rarely interact with undergraduates. They all have 1-1 teaching loads and deal primarily with graduate students, or they are off writing their books or doing research. Top professors at great LACs interact far more with their undergraduate students.</p>
<p>I definitely do not regret going to a LAC. I’d do it all over again in a heartbeat.</p>
<p>^^I think 'business" fits well with a liberal education and is becoming more prevalent in the LAC curriculum. My S1 went to an LAC that had added a busines major. He ended up graduating with a Business/English double major. My alma mater rolled it into the econ department so now you major in economics or business instead of just economics. I would not be afraid at all to send a kid with an interest in “business” to an LAC. Now if the kiddo wants to be a CPA or something like that, then a public uni setting that offers a major in accounting might make more sense, but “business” can be just about anything…</p>
<p>I looked at my old LAC to see if they had added computer stuff and they did but the classes are highly theory in nature and the description is The computer science program is designed to expose students to the central theoretical concerns of this rapidly evolving discipline, and to generate an understanding of the principle techniques and algorithms necessary to support meaningful applications. Again it’s not a major where they are teaching kids principles taking a thinking approach not a doing approach. My son’s alma mater that added business did not have accounting…only classes like micro economics, macro economics, Finance etc.</p>
<p>I’m not so sure that I would recommend a business as a major for undergrad education, even for those knowing they want to go into business. An UG major in economics, math, psychology, anthropology, or even English or history, will give as student a well-rounded background that can transfer across many business fields. Coupled with an MBA, I’d prefer a rounded liberal arts education to a narrow degree in business, for my money. </p>
<p>DS went to a wonderful LAC with his interest in public policy and economics. He is currently working in our state capitol as an appointee of the Governor, two years out of college. The original opportunity that led to this appointment came from his contacts at his LAC. He may decide to get an MA, an MBA or a law degree in the future- or maybe not- he’s not sure. But I think I can speak for him in that he has no regrets he didn’t choose the larger university option.</p>
<p>If you want an idea of what business might look like at a LAC, take a look at Millsaps. [Else</a> School of Management | Millsaps College](<a href=“http://www.millsaps.edu/academics/else_school_of_management.php]Else”>http://www.millsaps.edu/academics/else_school_of_management.php)</p>
<p>Different LACs and different majors have different job prospects, so it is hard to generalize. There are some LACs with strong concentrations, but provide the smaller community and a well-rounded education – examples are Swarthmore (with engineering), Claremont McKinna (economics, business) and Harvey Mudd (engineering, science and math). You can go to a big university and still come out with less than great job prospects. My advice is to go with the enviroment where you think you will thrive.</p>