The Benefits of Attending a Small Liberal Arts College

Mar 15

Written By Robert Hess

In my last blog post I introduced you to the small liberal arts college as the kind of institution where applicants have the best chances of receiving generous financial aid, especially merit aid. In this post, I will walk you through the many, yet little-known benefits of small liberal arts colleges that go far beyond affordability.

I must warn you that this is a rather lengthy post. You may want to read it in several installments rather than all at once.

Let me start out by explaining what a liberal arts college ("LAC") is and how it differs from a four-year undergraduate program of a university. The key features shared by most LACs include the following:

LACs have small student bodies, usually between 1,500 and 2,500 students.
LACs are mostly private institutions (only about 15% are public).
LACs focus exclusively on teaching, and doing research with, undergraduate students, i.e., unlike at a university, there are no graduate students.
LACs offer small classes, typically less than 20 students, that are taught only by professors, never graduate students (since there are none). The student-to-faculty ratio tends to be about 10:1.
LACs expose students to a wide variety of disciplines, including the humanities (e.g., history, philosophy, religion, literature, languages, art, and music), physical sciences (e.g., biology, chemistry, physics), social sciences (e.g., psychology, sociology, economics, politics), and mathematics. Majoring in more than one field or even designing one's own cross-disciplinary major is common at LACs. Incoming students don't have to declare a major until the end of their sophomore year.
LACs are typically residential, i.e., all or most students live on campus for all or most of the four years. In some cases, even some of the professors live on campus (e.g., at Haverford College in Pennsylvania).

In combination, these unique features of LACs translate into a broad variety of important benefits for students not available at large universities:

Students at LACs benefit from small, seminar-style classes involving in-depth discussions in which every student in class is expected to participate. Moreover, professors are fully committed to teaching undergraduate students. As a result, students

- achieve superior mastery of the subject matter,

- learn to articulate and defend positions in front of others, with direct feedback from professors and classmates, and

- have a chance to deeply engage with the subject matter, often with life-changing consequences after graduation (e.g., graduate school, professional school, Peace Corps, etc.).

Students at LACs have almost unlimited access to professors both inside and outside the classroom. This means that students

- gain a better, more nuanced understanding of the subject matter,

- can avoid or resolve problems by turning to professors for help or advice,

- receive help with finding research and internship opportunities (see below),

- benefit from professors' mentorship, sometimes even friendship (many LACs have formal mentorship programs where each student is paired with one or two faculty members),

- receive advice from professors on academic or other post-graduate plans (professional career choices, graduate programs to consider, etc.), and

- receive personal, detailed letters of recommendation when applying to graduate school or professional school (e.g., law school, medical school, or engineering school). This may seem a minor detail, but in fact places LAC students at a huge advantage compared to their peers at larger institutions.

Students at LACs benefit from a flexible curriculum.

- There is no need to pick a major until the end of sophomore year, and it is usually easy to switch majors. Depending on who you ask, between 50% and 75% of all college students switch majors. Yet, doing so can be impossible or extremely difficult at universities.

- It is easy, and quite common, to double-major or design independent/interdisciplinary majors.

- Most LACs have at least some distribution requirements (e.g., all students have to take some classes in the humanities, social sciences, physical sciences, etc.), but offer great flexibility in terms of how to meet those requirements. Some LACs have no required curriculum at all (e.g., Bennington College, Hampshire College, New College of Florida), and students can enroll in whatever classes they wish.

- Many LACs offer well-organized study-abroad programs ranging from a few months to an entire academic year. At some LACs, virtually all students study abroad for at least one semester (e.g., Goucher College, Kalamazoo College). Earned credits usually count toward a student's degree requirements, and students can still graduate within four years' time. Typically, need-based aid and/or merit aid awarded to incoming students can be used to study abroad, so no additional cost is incurred. In many cases, the cost of studying abroad is actually less than the cost of studying on campus.

Students at LACs develop a diversified knowledge base, broad skill set, especially superior written and oral communication skills (multiple-choice exams are rare at LACs) and important soft skills, including critical thinking, team work, creative problem-solving, leadership, comfort with ambiguity, and being a life-long learner.

- As it turns out, some of these skills are exactly what many employers are looking for. According to one source, the top three skills sought by employers, in order, are 1) communication skills, 2) analytical skills, and the ability to work in a team. Beyond that, the soft skills learned at an LAC are timeless – chances are high that they will be useful whatever jobs may look like in 10, 20, or 30 years from. And we really have little or no idea what the future of work holds in store. For many, there may be no work at all.

Students at LACs – and not only a chosen few – typically receive early (as early as freshman year) and repeated research and internship opportunities. The importance of these opportunities cannot be overstated.

- Most importantly, research and internship opportunities add practical experience to the otherwise mostly theoretical college curriculum. They also provide students with an early inside-look into different career paths, including graduate school and professional school.

- Research and internship opportunities impart critical practical skills needed for graduate school, professional school, and work.

- Research and internship opportunities are often compensated, which can help offset some of the costs of college.

- Last but not least, research and internship opportunities are meaningful and enjoyable, boosting academic and professional motivation and the chances of success post-graduation.

Students at LACs enjoy an intimate on-campus experience. Due to its small size, the LAC college community is close-knit. Students tend to know each other, and many professors know all of their students by name. For four years students study, debate, play sports or music, room, and eat with other intellectually curious, motivated students from diverse backgrounds. This shared experience tends to forge close, deep, and multi-dimensional friendships that often last well beyond college, and sometimes even end in marriage. It also gives rise to a particularly enthusiastic and supportive alumni network, which can pay major dividends when looking for internships or jobs.

If you are still able to absorb more information, here are some interesting, and perhaps surprising, statistics about outcomes at LACs:

Four-year graduation rate: This is the percentage of students that graduates from college within four years. This metric is important because graduating after five, six, or more years significantly drives up the cost of college and results in lost earnings during the extra years of college. Unfortunately, most college students do not graduate after four years. Take a look at these numbers:

- In 2018, the most recent year for which data are available, the national average 4-year graduation rate for 4-year colleges was only 47%. That means more than half of U.S. college students do not graduate on time.

- The average was even lower at public institutions, 42%. At Cal State LA, for example, the 4-year graduation rate is a jaw-dropping 11%. At UCLA, on the other hand, the rate is 83%, which is excellent.

- The average 4-year graduation rate is significantly higher for private non-profit institutions, 57%, though still not impressive.

- Unfortunately, no official (or inofficial) average 4-year graduation rate appears to have been published specifically for LACs. However, I can tell you that the 4-year graduation rates for LACs I would recommend range from 65% to 85% and in most cases are between 70% and 75%.

Acceptance rates to graduate schools and professional programs: These are the percentages of applicants from a given college who are accepted to graduate school, law school, medical school, or dental school each year. Once again, I was unable to find any average acceptance rates. However, I can tell you that the acceptance rates for LACs I would recommend range from 80% to 95% and in most cases are around 85% to 90%. The reason for these high numbers is that LACs provide personal attention and advising, and, just as important, detailed and often glowing letters of recommendation to each applicant. Many LACs also have strong pre-med, pre-law, and/or dual-degree engineering programs, and students in these programs routinely receive research and/or internship opportunities. This makes them strong applicants when the time comes to apply to graduate schools or professional schools.

- By comparison, the medical school acceptance rate for UCLA graduates in 2020 was only 53% and the national average was 43%. Why is it, you might ask, that an excellent college program such as UCLA's has such a ho-hum acceptance rate to medical school? Well, to begin with, each year more than 1,000 (!) UCLA students apply to medical school, often to the same, most prestigious institutions. Moreover, competition for grades at UCLA (and similar high-profile institutions) is extremely intense. Plus, UCLA does not provide pre-med advising to its applicants. They are on their own in the application process. In the end, this means that almost one half of all applicants get rejected.

- The story is similar for other professional programs and also graduate school. Students from small LACs with strong pre-professional programs and/or strong undergraduate programs in particular fields simply have an edge over students from larger institutions, no matter how prestigious.

Number of graduates who go on to earn Ph.Ds. Adjusting for their smaller size, i.e., on a per capita basis, many LACs produce more graduates who go on to earn Ph.Ds. or win prestigious post-graduate scholarships or fellowships than is the case for some of our nation’s best research universities. Of the top 10 Ph.D. producers, seven (!) are LACs.

- Why should you care? Because for a student considering graduate school, attending an LAC with a particularly strong program in the desired field – as evidenced by the relative number of students who later earn Ph.Ds. in that field – is an excellent choice. Not only will the student get the benefit of a strong academic program with a proven track record (say, chemistry), but graduate schools will also be very familiar with that program from previous successful applicants and happily accept more qualified applicants from the same program.

The best things come in small packages: As I pointed out above, LACs are mostly small institutions with about 1,500 to 2,000 students. But LACs are also small in number. Out of more than 2,600 4-year colleges in the U.S., only about 200 are LACs. As a result, only about 4% of college students graduate with a degree from an LAC! Yet, LAC graduates account for a disproportionately high percentage of highly successful people in the U.S., including 27% of U.S. Presidents and 23% of U.S. educated Nobel Laureates. In other words, LAC graduates are truly a rarified and highly successful crowd. Combine that with the top-notch academic and post-graduation track records of many LACs, and it seems fair to say that LAC graduates are part of a small elite. I promised you in my last blog post that you could still have bragging rights at a less selective LAC. Well, here you go. :-)

Robert Hess

The Benefits of Attending a Small Liberal Arts College

I must warn you that this is a rather lengthy post. You may want to read it in several installments rather than all at once.

Let me start out by explaining what a liberal arts college ("LAC") is and how it differs from a four-year undergraduate program of a university. The key features shared by most LACs include the following:

LACs have small student bodies, usually between 1,500 and 2,500 students.

LACs are mostly private institutions (only about 15% are public).

LACs focus exclusively on teaching, and doing research with, undergraduate students, i.e., unlike at a university, there are no graduate students.

LACs offer small classes, typically less than 20 students, that are taught only by professors, never graduate students (since there are none). The student-to-faculty ratio tends to be about 10:1.

LACs are typically residential, i.e., all or most students live on campus for all or most of the four years. In some cases, even some of the professors live on campus (e.g., at Haverford College in Pennsylvania).

In combination, these unique features of LACs translate into a broad variety of important benefits for students not available at large universities:

Students at LACs benefit from small, seminar-style classes involving in-depth discussions in which every student in class is expected to participate. Moreover, professors are fully committed to teaching undergraduate students. As a result, students

- achieve superior mastery of the subject matter,

- learn to articulate and defend positions in front of others, with direct feedback from professors and classmates, and

- have a chance to deeply engage with the subject matter, often with life-changing consequences after graduation (e.g., graduate school, professional school, Peace Corps, etc.).

Students at LACs have almost unlimited access to professors both inside and outside the classroom. This means that students

- gain a better, more nuanced understanding of the subject matter,

- can avoid or resolve problems by turning to professors for help or advice,

- receive help with finding research and internship opportunities (see below),

- benefit from professors' mentorship, sometimes even friendship (many LACs have formal mentorship programs where each student is paired with one or two faculty members),

- receive advice from professors on academic or other post-graduate plans (professional career choices, graduate programs to consider, etc.), and

- receive personal, detailed letters of recommendation when applying to graduate school or professional school (e.g., law school, medical school, or engineering school). This may seem a minor detail, but in fact places LAC students at a huge advantage compared to their peers at larger institutions.

Students at LACs benefit from a flexible curriculum.

- There is no need to pick a major until the end of sophomore year, and it is usually easy to switch majors. Depending on who you ask, between 50% and 75% of all college students switch majors. Yet, doing so can be impossible or extremely difficult at universities.

- It is easy, and quite common, to double-major or design independent/interdisciplinary majors.

Students at LACs – and not only a chosen few – typically receive early (as early as freshman year) and repeated research and internship opportunities. The importance of these opportunities cannot be overstated.

- Most importantly, research and internship opportunities add practical experience to the otherwise mostly theoretical college curriculum. They also provide students with an early inside-look into different career paths, including graduate school and professional school.

- Research and internship opportunities impart critical practical skills needed for graduate school, professional school, and work.

- Research and internship opportunities are often compensated, which can help offset some of the costs of college.

- Last but not least, research and internship opportunities are meaningful and enjoyable, boosting academic and professional motivation and the chances of success post-graduation.

If you are still able to absorb more information, here are some interesting, and perhaps surprising, statistics about outcomes at LACs:

- In 2018, the most recent year for which data are available, the national average 4-year graduation rate for 4-year colleges was only 47%. That means more than half of U.S. college students do not graduate on time.

- The average was even lower at public institutions, 42%. At Cal State LA, for example, the 4-year graduation rate is a jaw-dropping 11%. At UCLA, on the other hand, the rate is 83%, which is excellent.

- The average 4-year graduation rate is significantly higher for private non-profit institutions, 57%, though still not impressive.

- Unfortunately, no official (or inofficial) average 4-year graduation rate appears to have been published specifically for LACs. However, I can tell you that the 4-year graduation rates for LACs I would recommend range from 65% to 85% and in most cases are between 70% and 75%.

- The story is similar for other professional programs and also graduate school. Students from small LACs with strong pre-professional programs and/or strong undergraduate programs in particular fields simply have an edge over students from larger institutions, no matter how prestigious.

The Merit Scholarship Consultants

The Benefits of Attending a Small Liberal Arts College

I must warn you that this is a rather lengthy post. You may want to read it in several installments rather than all at once.

Let me start out by explaining what a liberal arts college ("LAC") is and how it differs from a four-year undergraduate program of a university. The key features shared by most LACs include the following:

LACs have small student bodies, usually between 1,500 and 2,500 students.

LACs are mostly private institutions (only about 15% are public).

LACs focus exclusively on teaching, and doing research with, undergraduate students, i.e., unlike at a university, there are no graduate students.

LACs offer small classes, typically less than 20 students, that are taught only by professors, never graduate students (since there are none). The student-to-faculty ratio tends to be about 10:1.

LACs are typically residential, i.e., all or most students live on campus for all or most of the four years. In some cases, even some of the professors live on campus (e.g., at Haverford College in Pennsylvania).

In combination, these unique features of LACs translate into a broad variety of important benefits for students not available at large universities:

Students at LACs benefit from small, seminar-style classes involving in-depth discussions in which every student in class is expected to participate. Moreover, professors are fully committed to teaching undergraduate students. As a result, students

- achieve superior mastery of the subject matter,

- learn to articulate and defend positions in front of others, with direct feedback from professors and classmates, and

- have a chance to deeply engage with the subject matter, often with life-changing consequences after graduation (e.g., graduate school, professional school, Peace Corps, etc.).

Students at LACs have almost unlimited access to professors both inside and outside the classroom. This means that students

- gain a better, more nuanced understanding of the subject matter,

- can avoid or resolve problems by turning to professors for help or advice,

- receive help with finding research and internship opportunities (see below),

- benefit from professors' mentorship, sometimes even friendship (many LACs have formal mentorship programs where each student is paired with one or two faculty members),

- receive advice from professors on academic or other post-graduate plans (professional career choices, graduate programs to consider, etc.), and

- receive personal, detailed letters of recommendation when applying to graduate school or professional school (e.g., law school, medical school, or engineering school). This may seem a minor detail, but in fact places LAC students at a huge advantage compared to their peers at larger institutions.

Students at LACs benefit from a flexible curriculum.

- There is no need to pick a major until the end of sophomore year, and it is usually easy to switch majors. Depending on who you ask, between 50% and 75% of all college students switch majors. Yet, doing so can be impossible or extremely difficult at universities.

- It is easy, and quite common, to double-major or design independent/interdisciplinary majors.

Students at LACs – and not only a chosen few – typically receive early (as early as freshman year) and repeated research and internship opportunities. The importance of these opportunities cannot be overstated.

- Most importantly, research and internship opportunities add practical experience to the otherwise mostly theoretical college curriculum. They also provide students with an early inside-look into different career paths, including graduate school and professional school.

- Research and internship opportunities impart critical practical skills needed for graduate school, professional school, and work.

- Research and internship opportunities are often compensated, which can help offset some of the costs of college.

- Last but not least, research and internship opportunities are meaningful and enjoyable, boosting academic and professional motivation and the chances of success post-graduation.

If you are still able to absorb more information, here are some interesting, and perhaps surprising, statistics about outcomes at LACs:

- In 2018, the most recent year for which data are available, the national average 4-year graduation rate for 4-year colleges was only 47%. That means more than half of U.S. college students do not graduate on time.

- The average was even lower at public institutions, 42%. At Cal State LA, for example, the 4-year graduation rate is a jaw-dropping 11%. At UCLA, on the other hand, the rate is 83%, which is excellent.

- The average 4-year graduation rate is significantly higher for private non-profit institutions, 57%, though still not impressive.

- Unfortunately, no official (or inofficial) average 4-year graduation rate appears to have been published specifically for LACs. However, I can tell you that the 4-year graduation rates for LACs I would recommend range from 65% to 85% and in most cases are between 70% and 75%.

- The story is similar for other professional programs and also graduate school. Students from small LACs with strong pre-professional programs and/or strong undergraduate programs in particular fields simply have an edge over students from larger institutions, no matter how prestigious.

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The Merit Scholarship Consultants