LACS, differing POVs

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Please help me figure this out.. My dad and my counselor have totally different views on LACS.</p>

<p>Dad:
My dad is vehemently against LACS, and he thinks i will leave college untrained for any type of profession. He especially hates the small LACS, because he thinks there is no opportunity course wise. </p>

<p>Counselor:
She says that people going to LACS have a higher percentage of getting jobs (i forgot the statistic tho). She also says a smaller LAC will most likely have smaller classes </p>

<p>Which one is right? </p>

<p>Personally i would like a small school - medium school. Small classes are important to me as well.</p>

2

<p>1) There is no difference between a liberal arts education at an LAC vs. a Uni. An English major is an English major, whether it is at Oberlin or Michigan. </p>

<p>If the argument is that you dad wants you to do a pre-professional major (nursing, engineering, business, etc), well, that’s a different question. Pre-professional majors are, in some ways, more practical (though liberal arts majors do, theoretically, leave you with more options because you have a good general communications skill set); but really, that’s a question of why you are going to school (is it ONLY to get a job, or to become more generally educated?). </p>

<p>2) Liberal arts colleges will have a smaller range of courses to choose from. They will also generally have smaller class sizes (especially for lower level courses, which can be huge at unis), less TAs teaching, etc. It’s a trade-off. It’s also a trade off socially: unis will have more people and more things to do, but they might be overwhelming and feel anonymous. Some people might get claustrophobic at LACs, but they tend to have a great community feel. </p>

<p>Maybe a small uni with an undergrad focus (a la Brown) would be a good compromise?</p>

3

<p>I've heard you go to an LAC to get into grad school. Nothing to do with a major from one.</p>

<p>I'd never go to a school the size of most LACs. Smallest school I applied to was 5,000 ppl, and that was a safety I'm not gonna attend. All big, SEC, ACC schools. I've honestly never understood the appeal of paying $50K/yr to go to a college with the same amount of people as my HS, when I could meet that same amount at a big cheap Univ. like UGA or GT</p>

4

<p>'I heard you go to an LAC to get into grad school. Nothing to do with a major from one.'</p>

<p>slamdunk, I suggest you ask your guidance counselor to provide hard facts and studies of LAC grads who tried to find employment after graduating with a bachelor's degree and see what he/she says.</p>

<p>A person like that guy above is not giving you any evidence for the claim, but is basing off his opinion on what 'he heard'. I'm not giving you any evidence because I'm fairly certain if you search these forums (and talking to your counselor in earnest) you will see that plenty of LAC grads get jobs after colleges, and good jobs at that.</p>

<p>'I'd never go to a school the size of most LACs. I've honestly never understood the appeal of paying $50k/year to go to a college with the same amount of people as my HS, when I could meet that same amount at a big cheap Univ'.</p>

<p>So he's saying that: If you care most about the number of people you will meet in college, go to a Big University because you get to meet more people for a cheaper price tag! woopeee.</p>

<p>Note this: Picture yourself in a big school. Now, if you are the type who loves to go to parties (those with alcohol) and meet different people all the time, AND attempt to stay in touch with most of them, then sure, an LAC is not the place for you, by definition. But are you that sort? Would you rather have a few really tight friends - would your tendency of going to a big school be to quickly find a small group of really tight friends, and then stick together? You probably won't end up getting to know as many people as you thought. Whereas in an LAC, the close knit community and indeed, the small size, would be a lot conducive to getting in contact with more people, adn consequently, you may find yourself with more groups of good friends, which may give you a more varied social experience than if you were in a big U.</p>

<p>I'm not saying which is better for social life GENERALLY. I'm saying that it is fallacious to say that a bigger U by default guarantees that 'I could meet that same amount (of people)' in your HS.</p>

<p>And may I say this: Take a closer look at GOOD LACs and their course offerings. Class sizes, the emphasis on professors teaching, their financial aid policies, internship and career offices, undergraduate research centers and funding, type of students, surrounding city - all these factors are going to play a role in your choice and DETERMINING which school is RIGHT for you. Use FACTS, not someone's outmoded idea of a place where all everyone does is think in the air and have a haughty nose because he knows more Chaucer than you do. That is not an LAC, and you owe it to yourself to investigate and determine what each individual school, REGARDLESS of whether it is an LAC or a Big Research University, can offer you and whether it is a good fit for your future development and career goals.</p>

5

<p>yeah i am actually interested in becoming a doctor (so premed)</p>

<p>Im not into drinking, so that kind of college isn't important to me.
I think a LAC up to 3500 undergraduates is just too small. above that up to around 10000 would be ideal. I would like to be in a school that has enough opportunity to meet other people and take classes I would like to take, but not be huge. </p>

<p>Thanks everyone for your help!</p>

6

<p>I see. Well, very few LACs are above 3500 in population. Perhaps you should consider Universities with Honors Colleges, so it's like an LAC (small class sizes and a lot of professor interaction) inside a big U. If you could actually get into those, your father's disagreement wouldn't matter.</p>

7

<p>Bucknell and Holy Cross are 2 of the bigger LAC's around 2800-3000 students and both have Division 1 sports programs. HC and Bucknell also have very strong alumni networks.</p>

8

<p>
[quote]
I've honestly never understood the appeal of paying $50K/yr to go to a college with the same amount of people as my HS, when I could meet that same amount at a big cheap Univ.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>At LACs with 500+ a class, you're still not going to know everyone, nevermind people older or younger than you or that people will be much more diverse and interesting than those at the typical public high school. You really think by going to a large state university that you're going to know thousands and thousands of people? I would argue that you will actually know more people in a large LAC that doesn't have the anonymous atmosphere of a large state school. Large LACs like Bucknell, Colgate, Oberlin, Wesleyan, Holy Cross that have 700+ a class could be a good compromise for you.</p>

9

<p>I went to a small LAC, where there were ~475 in my class. I was at a big alumni reception last night, and met a group of people who were my year, but we didn't know each other. We actually commented on that, that despite such a small school, you definitely will not know quite a number of people, especially if they are not in your dorm or major.
How many people in a large university do you think you'll get to know?</p>

10

<p>It's not about knowing everyone to me, its about having the opportunity to meet new people. when there are 500 or so in your class, you will meet everyone by the end of your freshman year. With thousands in your class, you could likely meet a new person every day. and that's just your class and not counting upper and under classmen.</p>

11

<p>Dad is living in the 1960s. Probably wants you to get a middle manager job with a pension too. I would take an LAC over big school any day of the week. You are taught how to read, write and think. Those skilles are applicable at any career. Go to Vo-Tech school to get a job. Go to a LAC for a life. Disclosure: I went to a LAC-type school 5500 undergrad. Work for a fincial firm and make over 350k/yr.</p>

<p>Favorite schools: Davidson, William & Mary, Haverford, Amherst, Claremont Consortium, Rice, Georgetown, Wake Forest, Emory, Carleton, Grinnell, Brown, Princeton, Dartmouth, Tufts, Middlebury, Oberlin.</p>

<p>Go with your heart. its your life.</p>

12

<p>Your counselor is correct. Your dad is an idiot.</p>

13

<p>(^ Let's not offend anyone's parents.... His father obviously just wants what's the best for his son.)</p>

<p>The best scenario in any case would be attend a small LAC as undergradate then attend an Ivy for graduate. When you are trying to find jobs, graduate degrees are what truly matter, because that is when you learn what is necessary for your profession. Especially in our generation, you can't expect to land a respectable, legitimate job right outside of college. You gotta go to professional or grudate schools and get degrees. </p>

<p>The reason that small LACs are the better for undergraduates is the personal attention, well-rounded/critical thinking education, more opportunity for EC and leadership, better recommendations, and many other stuff already explained above. I'm not saying people who attend the Ivies as undergraduate are wrong - obviously, they receive excellent education as well and they are just as intelligent. It's just the way schools are ran is completely different! </p>

<p>I just wanna say that the high school students who die to get into the Ivies just for the prestige and name-recognition are being silly. The prestige of undergraduate degree doesn't have much weight when it comes to professions. It's the higher education degree that matters the most, and LACs prepare you the best to get into good grad schools. And the quality of education on LAC is far better for, again, those noted reasons above. I studied with Cornell professors and Cornell students this one summer, and they got into this huge discussion one day like, "Small liberal arts colleges send more kids to graduate schools more easily. It's too hard to get good teacher recs at our school." Professors at big universities are just too busy doing their own research, and TAs hate teaching.</p>