In our area there are no LAC’s. Choosing one virtually guarantees going out of state. As others have said, getting the cost down under $30k is very very difficult. Most of them are also smaller than my kids’ high school. My kid wanted one anyway, and we found one that fit the budget. She’s having a great experience so far. I can’t think of anyone else from her high school in her graduating class or my older D’s who ended up at one, and very few that even applied, but I think a couple chose LAC’s this year. By far the majority of kids in our area end up at a state university.
Many who are applying to ivies, will also apply to elite LACs to get a brand name school on their college degree.
Maybe but even what might be considered elite are unknown outside their region. I happen to think a real LAC is ideal for a student considering a career in academia or who is certain the head to grad school and wishes a smaller environment.
Perhaps, but the point is that William & Mary’s does not call themselves a “LAC” or liberal arts university. They call themselves a “research university” right on their own website, which I quoted in the post above.
Perhaps you draw the line differently, but I’ll defer to their marketing department. They’ve been around for a couple of hundred years, so they seem to know what they are doing.
Son is going into engineering so a LAC is definitely out for him. We’re Californians, so not a lot of choices for LACs here; D isn’t getting into the Claremont 5 so LACs are pretty much not on the table here. I imagine it’s the same for a lot of students.
I wouldn’t want one of my kids attending the PNW LACs of Reed, Lewis & Clark, etc.
@bluebayou: This is from some plan that W&M has:
http://www.wm.edu/about/administration/strategicplanning/plan/liberalarts/index.php:
“Be a leader among liberal arts universities.”
@TheGreyKing The general public is sometimes not familiar with the Ivies either- with the exception of HYP. You say Penn and lots think you are referring to Penn State. You say Cornell and lots aren’t aware it’s an Ivy. And even with highly rated universities, you can have the same issue. I don’t think the general public is any more familiar with Rice than they are Williams, unless you live nearby
@SC Anteater Why not Reed or Lewis and Clark?
My D applied to our state flagship U. and another nearby flagship U. for their guaranteed tuition scholarship based on her stats. The rest of her applications went to selective LACs. It seems that out of her graduating class of 750 this year, less than 10 are going to LACs. I agree that the guidance counselors do not know about most of them and neither do most of the people in my community. But they can certainly name all of the big football schools here in the southeast. While I think those universities are great options for many (I attended UF for undergrad), it is surprising that people aren’t willing to look a little further for an educational experience that could be wonderful for their kids. I definitely get the money concerns, and my D and I will be stretching financially for her to attend an LAC up north. After all the research and visits, it seemed that the LACs were a much better fit for her academically and socially. Fingers crossed that her English degree will lead to some meaningful and stable work.
@PetulaClark – their reputation as ultra-liberal campuses. Not my family’s cup of tea (and we’re fairly liberal, being in the Bay Area).
I have to admit I worked with a new grad from Reed 20 years ago who was the whiniest ‘snowflake’ you can imagine. The working world was quite a shock to him (yes, I know anecdote /= data). I know another kid from my area who left L&C after a year because of the campus environment.
@elena13: If you are in FL, you folks actually have a hidden gem of a terrific public LAC in NCF that is reasonably priced as well.
@PurpleTitan - We’re not in Florida, but NCF does seem like a very interesting school with a good reputation.
A few posters have mentioned concerns about finances specifically at small liberal arts colleges. Yet, most of the top private small liberal arts colleges are need-blind and then meet full need, just like the top private universities. A lot of them participate in Questbridge, etc., too. Their endowments are high, and the percentage of alumni donations at the top small liberal arts colleges is very, very high, because alumni tend to be satisfied with their undergraduate experience and very connected to their college. Small colleges build commmunity well.
For middle class students seeking merit based aid (as opposed to aid based on financial need), neither many of the top private u’s nor the top private small colleges offer merit, so no difference there… but some stellar colleges with slightly higher admissions percentages do so at both large and small colleges, so it seems you can find merit at either, as well.
The choice between large and small should be based on preferred environment and fit, because that is where the big differences lie. Then look for the ones within your chosen category that offer the financial support you seek.
Some people also may apply to a mix of big and small colleges, because different aspects of each school other than size attract them.
Re the argument that LACs don’t accept AP credits, that doesn’t stop anyone from applying to private unis that give no AP credits. Kids that are applying to very selective colleges don’t usually care about that anyway. APs are simply a way to show rigor, to them.
Our HS sends kids to a full range of higher Ed institutions, from HYPSM to community college. Not many kids go to LACs though. I suspect in some ways, LAC kids are a self-selecting group. They tend to seek out the kind of environment they want and once they realize LACs are out there, they try to find the ones they like.
Until we started actively looking for colleges, we had never heard of the LAC my D attends. And a lot of schools students hear about are regional. In our area, apart from the very famous tippy tops, kids get excited if they get into Binghamton. The kids at our school who attend LACs tend to be the nerdier, more studious types. In NY, we are lucky to have Geneseo, which is quite popular and is a public LAC.
I think it just like anything else. People instinctively gravitate towards the things they have heard of. They want to go to Penn State because they have heard of it, even if they know nothing about it. Then they start looking around and realize there are plenty of options. How many senior posters on CC have seen students looking for colleges, who then say they have never heard of half of them? Then the ones who really care start looking a little deeper. We were like that. We didn’t have a clue three years ago. If my daughter had just applied to the colleges we had heard of without digging deeper, her list would have had Rutgers, Sarah Lawrence, Marist, Penn State and maybe USC. Why? Because those were just names that were in our heads, for whatever reason. She of course applied to none of those.
I do think the rural locations of many LACs are a problem for the less well-known ones.
I admit to being among those who had never heard of many of the LACs discussed here. The only person to recommend then to me for our children has been our pediatric dentist.
My DS did STEM. If either of my two DDs can be persuaded to consider law or medicine related careers, they may be willing to consider LACs then. But as mentioned before, these schools tend to be smaller than their high school and they are looking for a bigger world experience. As their mother, Rice and UTexas are my top picks and they would go to these schools if accepted, without consideration of smaller schools.
LACs have little pull at our large public HS for a variety of reasons:
- The kids are used to a large school and like it. Don’t want a school smaller than their HS.
- Our school is predominantly Jewish. The idea of going to a school with so few Jews is unappealing. Even at schools with relatively large percentage of Jews you are talking about a handful when the school is small. As the Val told the GC pushing Amherst: “There’s like 50 Jews per class year . No thank you”
- Engineering is one of the most popular majors and with a few exceptions LACs don’t cut it.
- Huge percent want to Go Greek. AT many top LACs that’s not an option. ( 2 students chose Yale over Harvard based in at least part on the Greek ban)
- We don’t have a lot of student athletes but we have a lot of students interested in rah rah School sports. Elite means Duke, Northwestern and Stanford to those who want that culture. For those less elite seekers it’s the big State U or Michigan/Wisconsin.
“My DS did STEM. If either of my two DDs can be persuaded to consider law or medicine related careers, they may be willing to consider LACs then”
A lot of LACs are excellent in STEM majors. It is true that engineering is only available on campus at a handful or two, but plenty of LACs strong in the rest.
As far as Jewish students, I could name some LACs that are 20-30% Jewish, no problem. 
What about Whitman in the PNW? Not super liberal. Beautiful campus and charming town.
My D’s LAC has a very active Hillel. In addition to weekly services and Shabbat, they have other activities just about weekly. In the first few months when she was struggling to adjust and make friends, Hillel was her safety net and she made many friends through it.
My hi-stats daughter with a humanities focus was looking for merit aid. She considered a number of LACs and research universities in several regions throughout the country (CA, Mid-Atlantic, Northeast Midwest, South).
After visiting a couple of LACs, she realized that the course offerings in her areas of interest were too limiting. She began to focus her attention on on small-medium sized research universities. Ultimately, it became a choice between full-tuition merit at a top 20 medium-sized research uni versus HYPS (I know, a good choice to have).
While we recognize the value of the education that a small LAC would provide, we would not have wanted to pay full freight for one.
“As the Val told the GC pushing Amherst: “There’s like 50 Jews per class year . No thank you””
I take it that this student was thinking about finding a Jewish spouse in the class? 50 is plenty for fellowship during college.