<p>I am thinking about applying to some liberal arts schools, but I am not sure if I am a liberal arts person. I want a well rounded education, but I am not sure if the size of a LAC is right for me.</p>
<p>For what reasons would you tell someone not to go to a liberal arts school?</p>
<p>Think carefully about the size and location of the school. Liberal Arts Colleges tend to be small. Many are rural. Those attributes can feel stifling to some students. </p>
<p>You can be closed out of a course at any school, but there will be fewer courses offered at a smaller school. There will also be fewer academic departments than in a large university.</p>
<p>There have been many arguments on this board about research opportunities at LAC’s, so if you are a researcher, or wish to be one, make sure of the potential opportunities at the schools you consider.</p>
<p>There are more student organizations and perhaps more athletic opportunities at a larger school, but of course there are more students, too. My experience through my two LAC kids is that LAC’s are very dependent on their student’s involvement in extra-curriculars to build the campus culture - most LAC kids are involved in more than one activity. My point is that I don’t think you would suffer from a lack of these opportunities at a LAC.</p>
<p>Facilities, including libraries, may be more limited at a LAC, but my guess is that for 99% of kids, LAC facilities won’t limit a student. </p>
<p>Alumni networks are obviously larger at larger schools. Small schools often have intensely interested alumni who are well placed in certain fields, but overall, a larger network means there will likely be someone out there working in your particular area of interest.</p>
<p>I am a LAC supporter. They have advantages, too, but you asked for drawbacks.</p>
<p>If you want to be an engineering or business or an otherwise specialised major, most LACs don’t have such programs because of the ideology of a liberal arts education.</p>
<p>Many things are smaller - people, campus area, resources, endowment. However, most of these “smaller” things balance out when you count them per student.</p>
<p>No/very few graduate students, if you like those?</p>
<p>I personally love my LAC (Williams, haha kinda obvious), but I definitely recognise it’s not for everyone, especially people with the first condition. Many of my friends want to get that head-start on their prospective career by enrolling in a certain school at a university, but if you’re like me and want to continue to discover what you want to do, you’ll find more freedom at a LAC. This is especially true at Williams/Amherst, since I know that the academic curriculum at those two schools are very open, but many CAS at large universities have pretty open curriculums (aka fewer core requirements, which may not be a bad thing).</p>
<p>DadofB&G: what do you think the main advantages are. Do both of your kids go to Williams?</p>
<p>No, my D graduated from a larger LAC and my S is at Williams.</p>
<p>The two main advantages I see are the great likelihood of developing close relationships with your professors and what one might call the total immersion into the campus culture.</p>
<p>The first is self-explanatory. I know that plenty of kids form strong bonds with the professors at universities, as well, but at a LAC, this is almost guaranteed.</p>
<p>The second advantage means the school is small enough that everyone makes a difference - you are instantly part of the campus life in a way you can’t be at a large school, because a LAC depends on you to be involved and add to its vibrancy. My D had three extra-curricular interests and my S has two. Neither is an athlete. A LAC expects and depends on you to jump in with both feet.</p>
<p>If you’re the kind of person who wants to run from one activity to another, form friendships with different groups, make a difference on campus and looks forward to bonding with his teachers, Williams or any other LAC is a good choice.</p>
<p>But remember that a LAC’s attraction is itself: if you’re looking for 100,000 people at a football stadium, funky college town shops, a wide array of restaurants and non-college-sponsored cultural events, a rural LAC would be a poor choice.</p>