private liberal arts colleges

NovaLynnx
Sat, 27 Sep 2014 16:47:47 +0000

The simplest answer is that a liberal arts college only grants bachelors degrees – not master’s or Ph.D degrees.



This is not always true. My private LAC offered about 4-5 different masters programs, including Nursing, Education, MBA, Human Resources, and possibly more. These were through a different “school” in the way that large universities have a “school” of business or a “school” of nursing - but the courses were taught by the LAC professors, utilized all the campus resources, and degrees were awarded by the LAC. Their graduations were even combined with the undergrads since the school was so small.

I agree with all other feedback you received here. I loved my LAC because of the small classes, small campus, excellent teaching, and it still had several research opportunities which were fairly easy to get involved with. I did a TON of writing (which I also loved). However, not everyone likes the small atmosphere - there are fewer clubs to choose from, you get to know most everyone (which can be good or bad depending on your attitude toward it), fewer sports with less hype, fewer living options, more writing (compared to large state schools with hundreds of students in introductory courses - no prof is going to grade that many papers), etc.

Cost can vary greatly based on financial aid packages. Private LACs may offer full-tuition and partial scholarships, which can make them cheaper than a state school (particularly if you’re an out-of-state student), but the opposite can also be true if the state school offers more aid than the private school.

I’d say your social personality and your learning style are the two biggest influencers on whether you’ll enjoy a LAC or a large university - but there are people who’d do well at either one.