<p>What advantages does USC have over a small LAC?</p>
<p>(Took me a while to figure out that a small LAC= small Liberal Arts College. Since we don't have many out here in CA, that term is not used often.)</p>
<p>Hopefully, you'll get some arguments from current students. There are many obvious advantages. If you don't get answers on your thread, do a search on these boards. There's been a lot of discussion on USC's benefits, "What do you like about USC," etc.</p>
<p>My son is in engineering and USC was an easy choice over a LAC. The broader range of majors is a big plus and you can let you change your major or focus without changing universities. </p>
<p>Most LACs offer only 2-4 majors in engineering if it is offered at all.</p>
<p>It may depend on the student's major as to which is better. Typically, adjusting to a university is more difficult during the first year, due to its larger size, and requires a student willing to leave his/her comfort zone while experiencing growing pains. Students get rewarded with a greater variety of opportunities. LACs are easier to adjust to in the first year of college, but can be a bit stifling during the last two years unless a year abroad is taken. Not always true, but a fair typicalization.</p>
<p>Thank you for responses.
I have done some research and still can't decide between three schools-- two LACs and USC (everyone gives me weird looks about why I'm deciding between such different schools), so I'm just looking for some new perspectives. I will be a biology major.</p>
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<p>Hmm, Pomona, Harvey Mudd, Claremont McKenna, Scripps, Occidental, Pitzer... seems like plenty to me, including some of the best in the country :D</p>
<p>It took my daughter around 15 minutes to decide that she never, ever, ever wants to go to a LAC. This was prompted by a visit to Pomona and the conclusion that her high school has more students. She also resented the fishbowl atmosphere (aka "personal attention"), which many consider to be a LAC's strength.</p>
<p>Sooo... some advantages of a larger school over a LAC:</p>
<p>1) Can become invisible when/if you want to. Help is there if you want to seek it out, not force-fed at every turn. One Pomona professor was quoted as not accepting homework on the first week of every month unless you go to office hours and discuss something/anything with him. Bleh..</p>
<p>2) Broader course offerings, I have heard people complain about having to sign up for courses in a Community College because the GE class in their LAC filled up. Without proper guidance, this can sometimes lead to analysis paralysis in kids.</p>
<p>3) Pre-professional training if you want it. Good luck getting that at a LAC, though bio should not be much of an issue. Incidentally, the tour guide at Pomona was a bio major who was graduating in a month without a job, and not knowing what she is doing. When asked why she majored in bio, she replied "because I kind of fell into it, I did not like it but I did not hate it either". So much for the vaunted personal attention and guidance.</p>
<p>4) Larger choice of a social circle, more flexibility to be something you were not in HS if you are so inclined.</p>
<p>5) More resources and opportunities in some fields, particularly in the sciences/engineering. If you want to search out research opportunities, chances are you will have more to choose from in a decent-sized university. Sure, there are more students, but in my experience few undergrads take the time to do research, which leaves the choices wide open for those that do.</p>
<p>Sorry if this is coming across as I am bashing Pomona. I am sure that it is a great school for those that fit in, but just like my D I had an almost visceral rejection of the whole experience when we visited.</p>
<p>A lot of students do not like the smallness of an LAC. I had to persuade my daughter to add 2 LACs to her college list. I think LAC usually focuses more attention on writing while large research university don't. However, at USC if you get accepted into the Thematic Option which is very intensive reading/writing option for general education and TO classes are capped at 15 person, you basically have the benefit of a small LAC with the opportunities of a big research university. More choices of class and more career options would be one of the many reasons why you would choose USC over LAC.</p>
<p>Research and internships tend to show up at larger schools more often than smaller schools. In the tech majors, getting into a premier graduate school or landing an entering salary higher than the national median for your major depends on having some prior experience.</p>
<p>Also, provided that you contact the right people, larger schools also tend to have better connections to the outside world. Those contacts, as I've been told, are especially important in law and business but will also help in any field you go into. Contacts won't do everything for you, but in today's hyper-competitive world, having more things going for you just helps.</p>
<p>The disadvantage is that most LAC's don't need a wall to keep the campus safe :P</p>
<p>LAC's also come in different flavors, most of which have a high emphasis on writing and reasoning skills, but some don't. There are plenty of reasons to attend USC, but you may also find that a handful of LAC's have opportunities that may offer you a better match.</p>