Learned a lot from CC discussions. I read a lot about differences between LACs and research universities. I looked several colleges’ degree requirements and find something that I have not seen a discussion. It seems the total credits required for graduation is about the same, but a normal course in LAC is usually 4 credits but in research universities (private or public) a normal course is usually 3 credits. That means fewer courses are needed in LACs. Since in LACs class size is small and student discussion is encouraged, I assume a course covers no more contents in LAC. Is it the case that a driven student would learn less content (hard skills) in an LAC in exchange for better communication skills (soft skills)?
I think you are overthinking. Depends A LOT on the individual school. Much more than the type of school.
No… it is not the case that a driven student would learn less content at an LAC in exchange for better communication skills. There are way too many variables here.
My D went to a LAC. She took Arabic one semester. One of her HS friends also took Arabic at a large public research university at the same time. They used the same textbook. My D’s class was 4 credits (took 4 classes in the semester, 16 credit hours). At the public research university, the Arabic class was weighted as 5 credits (so for a 15 credit hour semester, 1/3 of the course load).
My D’s class covered the entire textbook in the first semester. Her friend’s class covered the first half of the textbook, and reserved the second half for the next semester.
So in this particular case, the LAC covered more content than the public research university.
And if you think a generic class like “Multivariable Calculus” is the same at MIT or Cal Tech vs some much less rigorous university… I taught a math class for business students at a relatively non-selective private university, and had to halve the difficulty, then halve it again, based on what the students could manage. Similarly not all “liberal arts colleges” are the same.
There are rigorous LACs and non-rigorous LACs (and very rigorous LACs). There are rigorous research U’s and non-rigorous research U’s (and very rigorous U’s).
Your premise is wrong. My daughter attended an LAC & her typical course was 3 credits, not 4.
I remember when I was an undergrad at a large state University the typical course carried 4 credits, not 3 … and I just checked that university’s course listings on line and it is still true now.
So while I am sure that there probably are SOME LAC’s that provide 4 credits per course-- and SOME universities that provide only 3… that is certainly not true of all.
I’d suggest that you check your assumptions, because generally course credit at the college level is tied to class hours and expectations. So while my daughter did have 3 unit courses at her LAC, she also had some 4 and 5 unit courses.
Agree with calmom and others: What you want to consider in the summer of class hours and the reading list, along with the assignments of full-length papers, short papers, problem sets, exams, and other course requirements. I also agree with PurpleTitan–there’s no way to generalize about a random LAC vs. a random university.
It does not matter which college or university you attend regarding the “workload”. The number of credits you take determines that. Many courses in math/science are five credits, language can be four… You cannot make the generalizations about courses made in your post. WRONG about numbers of credits per typical courses.
The amount of material covered in any given course for the credits depends on the school. A top tier research public U can expect a lot more from a student than many LAC’s. For some students writing is easy, for others time consuming. Problem sets can be easy or hard. It all depends on the student’s background knowledge/skills and ability.
To know how many credits are given for any course you need to check the school in question. You also need to know how much material is covered to be able to compare them. There is no universal standard, like in HS AP courses. Some comparable college courses will cover the same amount of material covered in the AP version but many top tiers of colleges/U’s will cover a lot more.
I would give up on this pursuit. Too many variables and no standard for either research U’s or LAC’s.
Agree 100% with wis75.