<p>I'll be a senior applying to colleges next school year, and I just learned that LACs could be a good option for me. I don't really know much about them though, so can you guys answer some questions I have?</p>
<p>I think I understand what LACs are, but I'm not sure. I know this is a broad question, but what are the pros and cons of going to a LAC, and how do I know if it's right for me?</p>
<p>I want to be on a pre-med track. How much research and volunteering can students at, say, the top 20 LACs do?</p>
<p>I read somewhere on here that there's a big dropoff in quality for LACs as you go down in rankings. Is this true? Where does this happen? And are the US News rankings even accurate?</p>
<p>I know a lot of LACs are rural. What's this type of environment like? I've assumed that I want to be in or near a large city, but I never visited a rural campus.</p>
<p>LACs tend to value “learning for the sake of learning.” The idea behind liberal arts in general is that learning is helpful regardless of whether it’s practical, although you can definitely pursue a practical career at an LAC (some have very good pre-professional tracks). They are heavily, if not exclusively, undergraduate-focused. They’re small. They tend to deemphasize grades and promote “collaboration” over competition. If you visit an LAC, a lot of what they talk about will be in common with other LACs.</p>
<p>LACs tend to tell you that they have all undergraduates, so research is readily available. In practice, I think, it’s still less available than at large research universities, but that’s not to say that you don’t have any opportunities. As for volunteering, it probably depends on the school and location.</p>
<p>US News rankings are hard to go by. There’s definitely some drop off if you’re talking about prestige. Few LACs have names that will surprise people off the street, but if someone knows higher education, they will probably recognize names like Amherst. Lower ranked LACs are also significantly less diverse if you care about that. In general LACs have relative trouble attracting males and minorities (especially those that are former girl schools like Vassar–where males have a much higher acceptance rate but still compose only 42% of the students). At top LACs the student bodies are much closer to the composition of major universities, but at lower ranks they can be pretty homogenous.</p>
<p>Yeah, lots of LACs are rural. This can be disadvantageous for people who want a lot of opportunities for internships etc. Another thing you’ll notice when visiting LACs is that most will tell you that their location really isn’t that bad, but again it’s probably only slightly true. Look into specific LACs and try to decide if the location would work for you. Some of them are in or close to decently sized cities, at least (Vassar, Wesleyan). Swarthmore and Haverford have very easy access to Philadelphia.</p>
<p>In my opinion, the opposite is true. There is a much bigger drop-off in undergraduate program quality at universities. Or, to state it more neutrally, there is a much bigger change in mission focus at universities, and with it, changes in program offerings and atmosphere.</p>
<p>The top 20 or so national universities generally offer a LAC-like undergraduate experience in several important respects. They have small classes from year one, a near-total focus on arts and science education (not career training), old campuses with quadrangles and traditional collegiate architecture, and relatively understated sports and Greek scenes. Virtually all the top ~40 LACs, and many others, share these characteristics. As you go down the rankings, they become less selective (as universities do), and yes, less diverse (as universities generally do not). What you do not see so much as you go down the rankings for LACs (as you do for universities) is a big increase in class sizes, greater reliance on teaching assistants, greater emphasis on D1 sports and fraternities, a preponderance of big & modern concrete buildings, and higher enrollments in pre-professional programs such as communications, education, food science, or marketing.</p>
<p>In universities’ favor, even well outside the top 20, it is likely that a large school will have some outstanding programs, professors, or research projects, as well as a wide selection of majors and courses.</p>
<p>Well, first of all, a school shouldn’t be judged negatively by high enrollments in pre-professional programs. There is absolutely nothing wrong with majoring in communications, education, food science, marketing, et cetera; nothing at all. For many, these are the majors they are passionate about and ones that will prepare them for their jobs. Just because they are more practical doesn’t mean they are somehow anti-intellectual.</p>
<p>Furthermore, I’d recommend you do a lot of digging and research into LACs that might fit your educational goals, personality, and desires for a college experience. How to know if going to a LAC is right for you? Well, you might want to answer some of these questions:</p>
<p>1.) Do you prefer small, discussion-based classes or large lectures? (Keep in mind that what you prefer doesn’t necessarily mean what you should seek, however. You might also consider what will challenge you or help you grow as a student/individual).
2.) Are big-time sports important to you? Most LACs don’t emphasize them or have a large “rah-rah” environment, though many students at LACs have a whole different sense of deeply-ingrained pride and school spirit that goes beyond cheering for their athletic teams.
3.) How important is getting to know your professors? Do you want the opportunity to go over to their houses for dinner or get coffee with them to discuss papers? Or would you feel more comfortable keeping things more impersonal for GE classes and focusing on making connections with professors in your major almost exclusively?
4.) Community-wise, LACs could go both ways. Some people highly value the sense of close-knit community that often accompanies attending a LAC, while others feel suffocated by it and are uncomfortable with everyone knowing each other’s business. Which do you think you’d feel?
5.) City life. How important is it to you? Yes, there are certainly some LACs close to major cities, but this also depends on where you want to go to school. In the east, you’ll probably find more LACs close to major cities, but as you go south and west, it’ll be harder to come by. </p>
<p>Finally, on a personal note, I want to put my plug in for lesser-known LACs. There are a lot of little-known LACs that provide the benefits high-ranked LACs will. It’s all a matter of research. </p>
<p>Agree, don’t discount LACs that are not ranked in the top 20. In fact, you can get some very good merit aid from some of them. Your best bet is to go visit some of them. You might take a book like Fiske Guide to Colleges and look for some LACs that are strong in your intended area of study. </p>
<p>My oldest daughter is on track to graduate from an LAC ranked in the high 40s, and has had a great experience (with the aforementioned merit aid :D). She had super opportunities on campus and with her professors, a unique study abroad experience that she designed herself, and two great internships in her field (one with an agency that wants her to apply for full time positions for post-graduation). She is also Phi Beta Kappa, and very well positioned for graduate school admission if she chooses. We had never heard of her LAC before we found it in Fiske.</p>
<p>Thank you for your replies! I’m looking into LACs that aren’t too far from cities, like Swarthmore and Davidson. I also might apply to some LACs that may offer me merit aid. The lack of diversity/men might be a problem though haha.</p>
<p>I like the idea of having small classes and being close to professors, but I don’t know about not having many undergrads. How’s the social life at Williams, Swarthmore, Davidson, Amherst, and Pomona?</p>
<p>Macalester is an urban LAC in Minneapolis with a great reputation, merit aid and 12% international students. Vassar is urban (Poughkeepsie) as well - no merit aid, however. </p>
<p>Don’t rule out rural LACs, though. S is at one and loves the fact that all the students live, work and play on campus. Being rural fosters a strong sense of community. At urban LACs, students can and do live off campus and socialize outside of the school community, especially after the first two years. And if you are into outdooring, some of the rural LACs have amazing opportunities - skiing, hiking, kayaking, rafting, etc… that you wouldn’t easily be able to access in an urban environment.</p>
<p>Might look at Holy Cross great pre-med program with very nice campus 1 hour from Boston. HC like Davidson has strong school spirit and Holy Cross is need blind for admissions.</p>
<p>Relatively few selective LACs are in cities. These include, Macalester College (mentioned above), Colorado College (Colorado Springs), and Barnard College (NYC).</p>
<p>Barnard College is a women’s (“Seven Sister”) college affiliated with Columbia University (NY, NY). You can enroll in most Columbia College courses (other than the “Core” courses), and at graduation you get a Columbia University degree. </p>
<p>For most colleges you can download a file called the “Common Data Set” (Google on it with the college name). The CDS contains a wealth of information on admission, aid, class sizes, etc. Section B shows the breakdown of male and female students.</p>
<p>One the biggest negatives I have heard about LAC’s is that the environment can be quite confining. After a short period of time you know everyone there. Also the same can apply to your major. There will be fewer professors and you may have the same professors for several courses - if you do not like the professor that could be a problem. Also courses may not be offered a regular basis - they may offered on a 2 or 3 year rotation.</p>
<p>Students at LAC’s as a general rule have a better opportunity to get to know faculty. You are not likely at a LAC to have gradutate students for instructors because there are no graduate students. Research opportunities for undergraduates are often better because there are no graduate students to do the research. If there is no medical college though it may be difficult to do research for a MD.</p>
<p>Sports culture may not be as rah rah but there may be better opportunities in a LAC to participate in varsity sports.</p>
<p>I dunno, I think this is unlikely (or at least, greatly exaggerated).</p>
<p>Think about your high school. Do you know everyone there? Chances are, your friends are concentrated among a small number of other good students. Now imagine there are 2000 good students, young adults not 15 year olds, with strong EC interests, from all over the country. Do you think you would quickly run out of interesting people to get to know?</p>
<p>As long as people are mentioning places like Amherst, Williams and Davidson, I might as well put in a plug for Wesleyan; it’s nearly twice as big as some of the other LACs, so diversity and meeting women are not a problem. It’s half-way between Hartford and New Haven (about thirty minutes either way.) Wesleyan is more liberal than the above-mentioned schools and the social life actually scares off some of its more introspective applicants: [url=<a href=“http://wesleying.org/]Wesleying[/url”>http://wesleying.org/]Wesleying[/url</a>]</p>
<p>New Yorker magazine article by Malcolm Gladwell on the college rankings published in February of 2011. Must be a subscriber to read or pay to read, very good article. </p>
<p>Yes, consult the rankings, but don’t let 6 people who do this publication dictate where you should go to college for 4 years!</p>