Liberal Arts

College Search & Selection
1

Why do people like Liberal Arts colleges

2

For various reasons

3

^^LOL

Anyway, a few of the most basic reasons are: small size, closer faculty to student interaction, usually rural area. Do you want to ask something more specific? Why do you think LACs don’t deserve to be liked?

4
  1. They are purely undergraduate-focused.
  2. Their curricula and programs, including athletic opportunities, are generally open to all students.
  3. Those with excellent resources may offer 700+ courses, which is 650+ more courses than a student will ever take.
  4. Some go to them for the waters.
5

um…perhaps because they want to get an education?

6

I like them because, due to their smaller size and exclusive focus on undergraduate education, I think they provide a superior educational experience: better teaching, smaller classes, more individual attention, more engaged students. Hard data on educational quality at colleges is tough to come by. Princetonreview attempts to quantify this through surveys of student bodies throughout the land. They provide three numbers that partially reflect the quality of the educational experience at a college on a 60 to 100 point scale: Academic Rating (how hard do students work and how much do they feel that their efforts are worthwhile); Professors Interesting rating; and Professors Accessible rating. Let’s compare a couple of the finest universities in the land, one public and one private, with a couple of top-tier liberal arts colleges (numbers are in the order listed above):

Harvard ____90 70 67
UC Berkeley 84 73 66

Swarthmore 99 99 99
Pomona ___ 97 95 97

As you can see, it’s not even close (remember, 60 is the bottom of their scale). I think unless one needs the kind of depth in a particular academic area that can only be found at a large research university, or one really craves the broader social scope of a big school, LACs simply do undergraduate education better.

7

There are many threads about this on CC. My D chose a LAC for reasons including: the small size and focus on undergrad education, being part of a close-knit student body, having small classes taught by professors (no TAs), getting a chance to do research with professors (since there are no grad students the undergrads can more easily do research at LACs), ease of getting involved in clubs, theater productions, orchestra etc. And she has no regrets whatsoever about her choice to attend a LAC-- she is now a senior and has had a fabulous experience in every respect.

I would caution that the LAC experience is not for everyone. My S visited a LAC and found it too small for his tastes and he had four great years at a mid-sized university. So there is no one “right” answer – IMO it is about finding the right fit for you.