| LBW, there's a reason why i touted the benefits of a LAC education as a third person. The fact is, I am still not very convinced that LAC education trains analytical skills (creativity perhaps) better than a research university does. As you said, any reasonably rigorous curriculum can train one to think critically, and I concur. But I think that you would have to concede on the point about articulation. I don't think there's a zilch of doubt that US universities hone one's articulation skills better than local or UK unis (where one rarely have to speak up at all, except perhaps at SMU, where you're trained to do the wayang talk). In US universities, and especially so in a small liberal arts college, where you are in a class that is not only very small, but also one that is filled with naturally-outspoken americans, you will be encouraged (or forced) to speak up. And that, in the long run, naturally hones one's oratory skills more than just doing a couple of prepared-speech presentations in class every now and then, or the lame raise-your-hand-to-say-something-so-that-the-TA-can-put-a-check-next-to-my-name sort of class participation that the local unis are breeding.
As for the thing about connections. Well, there's a stereotype that says that LACs are filled with preppy, white, upper-class kids. And stereotypes, while not always accurate, always reflect some truth. Speaking from my own experience and based on my admittedly limited social circle, it seems like if someone's not on finaid or an international student, he's invariably a doctor's kid, a lawyer's kid, or an investment banker's kid. Okay that's obviously an exaggeration but you get what I mean. The point is, most people have some kind of connections, and even if they don't, they probably have a close friend who does. |