<p>Hello all. Just the one question this time, if y'all could indulge me. Recently, I had a friend in high school who was thinking about his college choices. He asked me if there was anything special/different about liberal arts colleges that set them apart from the public universities that he always heard about. </p>
<p>Now, my professors and classmates all refer to my school as a research university. Because of that, I assumed that there is some difference between liberal arts colleges and my university. However, I had not known about this difference until just recently (we were severely ill-informed about this kind of thing in high school). </p>
<p>If any of you kind folks know, can you list for me some major (and slight) differences between schools that are considered liberal arts colleges and those considered research universities?</p>
<p>Liberal arts colleges teach only at the undergraduate level (With some exceptions of a couple masters programs). Research Universities teach what Liberal Arts Colleges teach but also have graduate schools. The Liberal arts does not include professional fields like teaching law or nursing or business, and most don’t teach engineering (Though Swarthmore College is an exception I think). Liberal Arts Colleges mainly teach academic subjects, and this includes the natural sciences, humanities, social sciences, and arts. Some have the misconception that Liberal Arts Colleges only teach humanities degrees, but some schools like Harvey Mudd College actually specialize in STEM fields, and many Liberal Arts Colleges are very good at placing STEM majors in PhD programs.</p>
<p>This is asked and answered often here and a search will bring up some in depth answers. Yes the liberal arts include math and science. They are smaller and introductory classes tend to be much smaller than at a public U. Some of them are all seminar style from the beginning. So you will see different styles and culture of education philosophy and experience.</p>
<p>In general, liberal arts colleges are smaller and tend to focus more on teaching with smaller class sizes with almost no classes taught by TAs. On the other hand, research universities are generally bigger, with larger class sizes, but more professors involved in research. Research universities also may have a larger sports scene while liberal arts colleges tend to have more of a community feel because people know one another.</p>
<p>It really depends on the college itself and across the board there are always exceptions. For example, Lehigh has a thriving greek life/sports scene while being a liberal arts college and engineering. Meanwhile, a local state university which is smaller may have everything a liberal arts college is known for in everything but name.</p>
<p>So, if he was considering following a path in the numerical sciences/engineering, it sounds like the Liberal Arts Colleges would be a bad fit for him, then? </p>
<p>It really depends on the college. Some LACs don’t have engineering, only 3-2 programs. Others have excellent engineering programs and are well known for it, ex: Lehigh, Bucknell, and Lafayette. I am sure there are others and a quick google search will do, but the advantage of LACs as mentioned are the smaller class sizes, a more personalized experience, and professors who’s primary interest are teaching students</p>
<p>The more I learn about the ins-and-outs of the college system, the more information I feel I could share with the people back home so they don’t go in blind like myself. Now I wish I had chosen a LAC lol</p>
<p>No worries! It’s totally understandable, many students I have talked are unclear about the difference as well. Probably because it can be defined in so many different ways</p>
<p>There are some drawbacks to LACs as well. Among them, they tend to lean more to “learn for the sake of learning” mindset and may have a weaker name recognition, than let’s say one that is more pre-professional such as Penn State. Also, they may offer less variety in terms of majors and classes you can take, but those are all things people take into consideration when choosing schools.</p>
<p>Personally, I go to a school that calls itself a medium sized “liberal arts university,” which has apsects of both worlds. Small class sizes, interaction with professors, but lots of research going on with a slightly larger campus. Another aspect of it is that it encourages the “liberal arts curriculum” which may consist of exploring many different subject areas and interdisciplinary work, versus a school that may have you announce your major the moment you walk in </p>
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