Question of Parents of Kids at SLACs

[Anonymous]

I've never really paid attention to SLACs for my kid because of two concerns, but I wonder if they are justified.

1. My current junior is very undecided in terms of major or career path, and so it seems like a larger university would have more options once her direction becomes clearer. I'm certain she won't be interested in engineering, so there's no need for an engineering school. But generally speaking, it seems like larger schools would have a broader and deeper set of majors.

2. I'm wondering about the process of getting a job at graduation. I'm not questioning the quality of the schools. But large schools have tons of employers coming to campus for on-campus interviews. And it may even matter in terms of internships and that kind of thing, given that a large school with more infrastructure for career services would be beneficial. (I have an older kid (current sophomore) at a lower ivy and she has had a ton of summer internship interviews -- and I get the impressing that many of those firms have a list of schools they draw from.)

If your kid is at a SLAC, have you found the above to be challenging, or am I overthinking things?

[Anonymous]

There is a tradeoff. In my experience, the better liberal arts schools offer better teaching and interaction with professors - on average - than the typical big university. However, I think getting the first job out of college can be harder out of a liberal arts school. Sometimes, liberal arts grads need to do a graduate degree. I think liberal arts schools are great if the student is planning to do an MBA, law school, medical school or a Ph.D.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There is a tradeoff. In my experience, the better liberal arts schools offer better teaching and interaction with professors - on average - than the typical big university. However, I think getting the first job out of college can be harder out of a liberal arts school. Sometimes, liberal arts grads need to do a graduate degree. I think liberal arts schools are great if the student is planning to do an MBA, law school, medical school or a Ph.D.

Nice response.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I've never really paid attention to SLACs for my kid because of two concerns, but I wonder if they are justified.

1. My current junior is very undecided in terms of major or career path, and so it seems like a larger university would have more options once her direction becomes clearer. I'm certain she won't be interested in engineering, so there's no need for an engineering school. But generally speaking, it seems like larger schools would have a broader and deeper set of majors.

2. I'm wondering about the process of getting a job at graduation. I'm not questioning the quality of the schools. But large schools have tons of employers coming to campus for on-campus interviews. And it may even matter in terms of internships and that kind of thing, given that a large school with more infrastructure for career services would be beneficial. (I have an older kid (current sophomore) at a lower ivy and she has had a ton of summer internship interviews -- and I get the impressing that many of those firms have a list of schools they draw from.)

If your kid is at a SLAC, have you found the above to be challenging, or am I overthinking things?

You understand.

[Anonymous]

I will say my kid’s SLAC seems to put a ton of emphasis on the career center— they help with resume writing, mock interviews, networking events etc. I don’t remember anything like that at my Ivy (maybe it was just a “lower Ivy” though).

[Anonymous]

I also have a junior. She thinks she knows what she wants to study but I realize most juniors don't really know what they want to major it/I want her to experience lots of things so she can make a more informed decision.

Given my daughter's personality, I would like an SLAC for her for all the reason 9:37 stated.

One thing I do appreciate about some of the SLAC tours we've been on, the places say you don't have to choose your major until even end of sophomore year. I think that could be great for a kid like my daughter and yours too.

I went to a larger, semi-public university. For the most part, we had to know our major going into freshman year/sophomore year at the latest since that is when we had to transfer into the specialized schools. If I decided to switch majors, it would have been more challenging.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I also have a junior. She thinks she knows what she wants to study but I realize most juniors don't really know what they want to major it/I want her to experience lots of things so she can make a more informed decision.

Given my daughter's personality, I would like an SLAC for her for all the reason 9:37 stated.

One thing I do appreciate about some of the SLAC tours we've been on, the places say you don't have to choose your major until even end of sophomore year. I think that could be great for a kid like my daughter and yours too.

I went to a larger, semi-public university. For the most part, we had to know our major going into freshman year/sophomore year at the latest since that is when we had to transfer into the specialized schools. If I decided to switch majors, it would have been more challenging.

It's very true that for some schools (where you apply to the school rather than the university) it is tough not to have a clear direction going in, but in my experience the schools where you apply to the university generally have the same timetable (end of sophomore year).

[Anonymous]

My kid is at a SLAC and I have been v. impressed by the career center and the opportunities available to students. The career center is responsive, provides tailored guidance, and inside tips. In the summer at the end of his freshman year, had a v. interesting unpaid internship through the school and paid research with a prof. Already has a paid internship lined up for the summer. Another kid who was at an equivalently ranked mid-sized private university was pretty much on her own when it comes to internships and jobs.

[Anonymous]

One thing I’ve found with the SLAC is that they have deep connections to alumni that I didn’t see at HYS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kid is at a SLAC and I have been v. impressed by the career center and the opportunities available to students. The career center is responsive, provides tailored guidance, and inside tips. In the summer at the end of his freshman year, had a v. interesting unpaid internship through the school and paid research with a prof. Already has a paid internship lined up for the summer. Another kid who was at an equivalently ranked mid-sized private university was pretty much on her own when it comes to internships and jobs.

This! Make sure your kids are taking advantage of career centers as SLACs. Not all kids are aware enough to do so, and in many cases the alumni network is quite strong.

[Anonymous]

My child is at a SLAC with an open curriculum. That is allowing him to take courses in a wide variety of subjects so is actually great for major exploration. The career center is very personalized and they place a great deal of emphasis on getting first semester students to connect. The other thing about SLACs is most students go on to graduate school and they are well prepared for that.

But honestly this is kid-specific.

[Anonymous]

Have a friend with a son at Williams College. He got a summer internship--not sure whether it was paid or unpaid--but he had to get it on his own.

[Anonymous]

I understand why you’d draw a distinction between schools like Williams and Amherst (both about 2,000 students and rural) and schools like NYU and UCLA (30,000 students, in major cities). But in that taxonomy, I can’t figure out why you’re grouping Dartmouth (5,000 students, rural) with UCLA.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:One thing I’ve found with the SLAC is that they have deep connections to alumni that I didn’t see at HYS.

+1

[Anonymous]

The "preppier" LACs like Williams, Amherst, Colgate, Colby, etc. tend to have good career outcomes right out of undergrad.

The "crunchier" ones like Grinnell, Carleton, Pomona, Oberlin, etc. have very little on-campus recruiting -- the vast majority of students go to grad school (often a PhD, which have questionable ROI).