<p>Some of the schools I’m interested, namely Endicott College and Stonehill, are comprehensive colleges. Now what is 411 about these comphrenesive colleges? Where do they fall between LACs and community colleges? Are they reputable, do any of them have any reputations b/c I’ve found what look like some great schools, but I’ve never heard of any of them, yet I’ve heard of hundreds of LACs… so what the deal about this type of school?</p>
<p>comprehensive colleges… they’re much more hands-on oriented and aren’t too big on theory or research. they’re usually smaller than universities but larger than LAC’s. their main goal is to prepare you for a job after 4 years of college; most of the students there aren’t aiming for graduate study. the comprehensive colleges tend to only have regional reputations (but some might be really strong in their region). there’s actually hundreds of comprehensive colleges out there but they just get overlooked on this website because most students are aiming for top universities or LAC’s.</p>
<p>Bymp…come on, one post!</p>
<p>Comprehensive colleges is just a label for the colleges which fall between doctoral universities and liberal arts colleges. Generally they offer master’s programs and some professional baccalaureate programs, which is why they’re not really “Liberal arts colleges.” But they don’t offer doctoral degrees (award less than 20 per year, if any) and they don’t a lot of federally-sponsored research.</p>
<p>These colleges will tend to have a strong undergraduate focus, with faculty dedicated to teaching. You’ll find a lot of state colleges on this list, as they have a broad array of programs to meet the needs of the people in the region, but don’t compete with the flagship research university in the state for the research dollars and doctoral programs.</p>
<p>Just as with any group of colleges & universities, there will be a range of quality, with some excellent and some mediocre. In general, however, they are not going to have the national prestige that comes with having top doctoral programs, medical schools, research programs, and so on, or the national profile that comes with being a selective, traditional liberal arts school. But you’ll find many fine institutions in this category.</p>