<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>If you know that Midd can’t provide you with the educational tract you require. </p>
<p>For example, if you want pre-pharmacy, Midd’s probably not the best decision (although definitely possible).</p>
<p>If they absolutely knew they wanted to be an engineer or an accountant. It’s not like you couldn’t get there from here, but… </p>
<p>if I can add this… Large Universities also have colleges of liberal arts, so it’s not always a size thing even though Midd is a small school. So you have to decide if it’s really just the small size you feel a little intimidated with. You can major in liberal arts at alot of these huge schools as well.</p>
<p>Modadunn, I usually agree with what you have to say, but I have to disagree with you here. I have friends I graduated with who are engineers. That’s something you have to go to grad school for and some of the best grad schools love to get applicants from top LAC’s. I would say a better example of a reason not to go to an LAC is in fact the size. I attended Midd and two large universities (one Ivy and one state U in the Pac-10) for grad school. I KNOW I would have felt lost as an undergrad at a school as large as either of my grad schools. I really appreciated the opportunities for me at a school the size of Middlebury (and at the time it was a bit smaller). I know some people like to blend into the masses. If that’s you, then I can’t imagine wanting to attend an LAC.</p>
<p>I agree Urban… all I was really saying is that if I knew I wanted to be an engineer, I might prefer a 3-2 program or a school like RPI (also small, but engineering focused). As I said, it’s not like you couldn’t get there from here, but there are definitely other more direct ways of doing it. As for size… I also agree that being at a huge University is not an advantage for a lot of undergrads and in fact, could be the opposite. First of all, the teaching at the freshman and sophomore level especially is going to be done by teaching assistants/grad students who are far more interested in their own programs of study than whatever the heck some freshman has on their plate. Obviously, I am a big fan of the LAC for many reasons, most notably is the fact that there really aren’t that many people who are doing anything that has anything to do with their initial major and in fact, the jobs of 20 years in the future are barely on today’s radar. Learning to think critically and broadly will give you the best foundation for doing just about anything going forward. And too… there are small LAC’s and there are REALLY small LAC’s. I think Midd at 2500 or so, is a great size.</p>