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Completely disagree with this. At most large research universities there are many sections of easy gen eds which allow people with absolutely no abilities in the field to pass the class. In contrast, LACs may offer one or two of these courses each semester, and at least from my experience at my previous school, they tend to be still somewhat rigorous. Universities also seem to be more leniant with respect to waiving gen ed requirements than respectable LACs of the same stature (ex: my new school said two years of hs spanish fulfilled the language requirement, while my previous institution required two semesters of college study of a non native language). </p>
<p>One thing that I’m surprised hasn’t been brought up is that by the time your son transfers, he will likely have gotten many of the gen eds out of the way, thereby freeing up room in his schedule for art electives. I’m a second year student, and this semester marks my last one where I have to take gen eds. From here on out, I’m only required to complete major specific courses. I suspect that if your son transfers to a university without an extensive core, he’ll be in the same boat. </p>
<p>As far as transfer suggestions go, I’d look into Brandeis if your son can get his college GPA high enough. Many of the California privates with strong art departments (excluding Stanford and Pitzer) take large numbers of transfers because of the dominance of the CC system over there. I’d also encourage your son to look into state flagships which although they may not be terribly selective, are extremely transfer friendly and the top 5% of the students are likely intellectually on par with those of almost any university in the country. Larger flagships often breed college towns which tend to attract artisitic types.</p>