<p>Some private LACs do have graduate programs:</p>
<p>Bucknell
Clark
Goucher
Hillsdale
Lewis and Clark
Middlebury
Smith</p>
<p>Some do have more obviously pre-professional majors; the most obvious one on these forums is engineering, as evidenced by the students searching for LACs with engineering.</p>
<p>Also, some lists of LACs include the military service academies, which are obviously pre-professionally oriented schools (the profession being officer in the military). These are also public.</p>
<p>Public schools do have an obligation in most states to serve local area residents as well. Having a business school to provide accounting and some general business majors as well as offering MBAs and having a school of education is probably necessary for a public college in addition to offering a liberal arts emphasis.</p>
<p>Here is a table comparing the three most notable private LACs in Connecticut and the Public LAC. Can you point out which college matches your ideal LAC?</p>
<p>
College Graduate % Classes Professional</p>
<h1> Degree Programs > 50 students Degrees?</h1>
<p>Wesleyan 10 5% No
Trinity 3 2% Yes
Connecticut College 1 2% Yes
Eastern Conn. State 3 0% Yes
<p>Oy. I don’t have an ideal LAC. I’m just noodling around the concept of the LAC, not attacking your list or your research, really. I just wanted to discuss the “public LAC” concept–and whether these schools are truly LAC’s or just smaller publics; whether someone seeking an LAC experience as commonly understood would find it at one of these schools; even whether the term “LAC” is even a useful one today. But if that subject doesn’t interest you, there’s no need to respond.</p>
<p>Hands down the best vocabulary I have seen in a while on the internet: “semantic legerdemain” - that is fantastic. And, as an English/Linguistics double major with a penchant for collecting dictionaries and hard-copy encyclopedia sets, I do mean that sincerely. If the educational experience at real LACs leads to using awesome words like “legerdemain”, then I am all for them.</p>
<p>But back to the topic at hand, I don’t have an opinion one way or the other about LACs or public LACs. I will just take this moment to thank Mr. Wallace for these wonderful, potentially life-changing lists of universities.</p>
<p>Is a (public or private) LAC really anything other than any (public or private) smaller school where most students are in liberal arts majors and there are no (or very few) PhD programs or students, at least in a conceptual sense?</p>
<p>The “public” is placed in front of “public LAC” to alert people that this is not the same as “LAC”. I see public LACs as somewhere in the middle - they’re state institutions, so they’re larger, but they’re trying to give more of the experience of a traditional LAC rather than a large research institution or directional school. If you can’t afford $50-60K/year for a private LAC, these are much more affordable schools that are going to be closer to what you want. If your dream was to attend a private LAC, but the money just isn’t there, you might find yourself much happier at UNC-Asheville than NC State. UNC-Asheville is not just a smaller public, it has a different focus more in line with traditional LACs.</p>
<p>St. Mary’s College of Maryland is a public LAC that I think fits most peoples’ perception of a small LAC. A number of CC posters have identified St. Mary’s College as an appealing lower-cost option for students wanting a real LAC experience, though the tuition is still substantial and above BobWallace’s OOS cut-off: $28K+ for OOS. This is considerably less than most private LACs though.</p>
<p>You say that you don’t, and yet you have established a large set of specific requirements to be a LAC, for which you say public LACs fall short. It certainly seems reasonable to suppose that an ideal LAC for you would be one that conforms to the rigorous list of standards you have established. So, the question remains: by your rigorous standards of what defines a LAC, is Wesleyan a LAC? Trinity? Connecticut College?</p>
<p>Also, $9155 is per semester, not annually. I just found someone has already corrected that. Anyway, it is a good deal and they do have merit aids for oos students.</p>
<p>UNC -Asheville like many of the 17 UNC campuses was a private school started in 1927 and joined the UNC system in 1969 with the direction of being a designated liberal arts university. Unlike the UCs which are started as part of the UC system the campuses within the UNC system began as seperate entities and were later absorbed into the UNC system.</p>
<p>NC A &T was started as an HBCU and still retains its unique and storied past and tradition while having the resources of the UNC system. Each campus as a very different feel and mission resulting in a wide variety of choices. Asheville focuses primarily on undergraduate education and liberal arts ideals. But it does have an AACSB accredition for its management and accounting programs. So while offering a liberal arts foundation its maintaining its relevancy by offering programs that can translate into real world employment and not ending up with a degree that is difficult to secure employment for in this economy.</p>
<p>I think it is a great combination answering many of the needs of the residents of NC and a great bargain for OOS.</p>
<p>My daughter and I visited UNC-Asheville and loved it. It felt like a LAC to us - small, personal, mostly undergraduates (I believe one can earn a Master’s in teaching?) that happens to be a public institution. I would not say labeling UNC-Asheville a public LAC is just a marketing ploy. I went to UNC-Chapel Hill for graduate school and it has a very different feel to it. </p>
<p>I also just plain liked Asheville, so no arguments from me about D going there.</p>
<p>We also visited St. Mary’s College of Maryland. Again, small, personal with maybe a graduate degree/certificate in teaching. It’s a bit expensive for a public institution but far less expensive than the private LAC we visited (Swarthmore - just to see a very selective private wealthy LAC). Again, it is very different from the other Maryland state universities such as UMBC, Towson, UMD-College Park because it is so small and lacks graduate schools and students.</p>
<p>Thanks to everyone in the thread who contributed genuine experiences and impressions of the colleges featured. Hopefully the new thread can avoid ■■■■■■■■ responses and stay on topic.</p>
<p>Just putting in a good word for Fort Lewis College in Durango, CO. Durango is a great college town and the location of the college means that students have access to millions of acres of state and federal land to ski, bike, and hike on, plus good proximity to the canyons of Utah. </p>
<p>Professors really care about their students. Classes are smaller than what is to be found at schools like CU or CSU. Students who are committed to their studies have a real opportunity to shine at this school. </p>
<p>My daughter is interested in Fort Lewis College and has been accepted. I must say that we don’t know much about it. The entrance requirements are much lower than all of the other LACs she is applying to. After an intense high school experience, I think she is looking for a place where she will not be as stressed out all the time. Grad school is probably in her future. It looks like a beautiful location. Any feedback on what this place is all about?</p>