SLACs---good, bad and the ugly?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A good compromise is the research universities that run a LAC like college. The trade off is all the ones I can think of are basically lottery schools - Harvard, Yale, Princeton, UChicago, Dartmouth, Brown, Columbia, etc.

Harvard absolutely does not run like a college. It is a research university, full stop, with very little concern for undergrads.

http://harvardpolitics.com/harvard/harvard-undergraduates-teaching-harvard-doesnt-want-talk/

Swarthmore has undergraduate teaching assistants as well. The first time I heard of the practice was from a science professor touting the ability to be a TA as an undergraduate as one of the advantages of attending a SLAC.

[Anonymous]

Not all SLACs are created equal but the good ones have a lot of contact with professors, small classes, more discussion and attention. Depending on the SLCA they also tend to not have the students competing against each other to get into professional school.

For our DC a SLAC is a much better fit. But I think it depends on the student.

[Anonymous]

I think the question is not "Is it worth $X?" but "Is it worth $Z more than the alternative?"

I have been a TA, so I'm biased, but I don't think it's necessarily a bad thing to have an introductory college course taught by someone with no more than a master's degree. At that level, kids need you to have teaching skills more than they need you to have a deep knowledge of, say, Byron and the Privileged Outsider (or whatever your dissertation topic would be).

I went to a SLAC, and I liked knowing my professors well and having small classes. And warding off guilt kept me working hard: It's much less tempting to skip a class if you know there's a good change you'll be passing the professor on the quad. "Oh, hi! Yes, slight touch of scrofula but it cleared up in time for me to meet friends for coffee, ha ha!"

[Anonymous]

Seems like the majority of the SCLACs are truly out in the middle of god-forsaken no where. A special student will it require to like that lifestyle.

[Anonymous]

Some classes from SLACs may (note the "may") not transfer to other colleges/universities - unique classes.

And - a little related - if DC wants to do an advanced degree in a health field, it will be important to take the exact prerequisites. Certainly a capable SLAC advisor should offer the help needed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Some classes from SLACs may (note the "may") not transfer to other colleges/universities - unique classes.

And - a little related - if DC wants to do an advanced degree in a health field, it will be important to take the exact prerequisites. Certainly a capable SLAC advisor should offer the help needed.

I went to a groovy-but-rigorous SLAC and I can't imagine what you're thinking about.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think the question is not "Is it worth $X?" but "Is it worth $Z more than the alternative?"

I have been a TA, so I'm biased, but I don't think it's necessarily a bad thing to have an introductory college course taught by someone with no more than a master's degree. At that level, kids need you to have teaching skills more than they need you to have a deep knowledge of, say, Byron and the Privileged Outsider (or whatever your dissertation topic would be).

I went to a SLAC, and I liked knowing my professors well and having small classes. And warding off guilt kept me working hard: It's much less tempting to skip a class if you know there's a good change you'll be passing the professor on the quad. "Oh, hi! Yes, slight touch of scrofula but it cleared up in time for me to meet friends for coffee, ha ha!"

This might be true, but TAs are not chosen for their teaching skills. In fact, generally they are chosen without regard for their teaching skills.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some classes from SLACs may (note the "may") not transfer to other colleges/universities - unique classes.

And - a little related - if DC wants to do an advanced degree in a health field, it will be important to take the exact prerequisites. Certainly a capable SLAC advisor should offer the help needed.

I went to a groovy-but-rigorous SLAC and I can't imagine what you're thinking about.

I too have no idea what PP is talking about.

"advanced degree in a health field"--do you mean med school? Every SLAC in the country knows what "pre-med" is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think the question is not "Is it worth $X?" but "Is it worth $Z more than the alternative?"

I have been a TA, so I'm biased, but I don't think it's necessarily a bad thing to have an introductory college course taught by someone with no more than a master's degree. At that level, kids need you to have teaching skills more than they need you to have a deep knowledge of, say, Byron and the Privileged Outsider (or whatever your dissertation topic would be).

I went to a SLAC, and I liked knowing my professors well and having small classes. And warding off guilt kept me working hard: It's much less tempting to skip a class if you know there's a good change you'll be passing the professor on the quad. "Oh, hi! Yes, slight touch of scrofula but it cleared up in time for me to meet friends for coffee, ha ha!"

This might be true, but TAs are not chosen for their teaching skills. In fact, generally they are chosen without regard for their teaching skills.

Probably even truer of Professors!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, If I had enough disposable income to pay $60K per year without really feeling it, then yes, I'd send my kid to the best SLAC he or she could get into.

The top SLACs offer a fantastic education, much more individual attention than your kid will ever get at a large state university. Your child will get to know his professors, will know lots of kids on campus, will really feel like a member of a community. Because your child will be known, people will be interested in how she is doing, and what she's doing, and where she's going. For kids who have never lived away from home, this can be very helpful in making the transition.

And the other students at the most selective SLACs are going to be amazing, talented, multi-faceted kids, as interesting a group of kids as you'll ever meet.

At the less-competitive SLACs, the education will still be great, but the kids may not be as ambitious or accomplished as the kids at the top SLACS. But your kid will still have a great small-school experience.

I don't have the $$, so my kid is going to our huge state U. I can't justify spending the $$ for the SLAC, even though my kid did get into a top SLAC. I would be taking a huge financial risk to spend $250K to send my child to college. Just can't do it.

Don't worry. You are not alone. My dc is a very strong student and would love to apply to some of these wonderful LACs but we will not qualify for aid and we can not afford $250,000 for each child's undergraduate degree. Your dc will be at a state university with plenty of other strong students with parents that said no way to $250,000.

Again, strong students who are interested in SLACs should look at schools listed ~20 and above on USNWR college rankings. Almost all of these schools offer merit aid--not related to financial need--to strong students. E.g:

Grinnell
Oberlin
Macalester
Colorado College
Kenyon
Bucknell
Dickinson
Skidmore
Union
Bard
Lafayette
Gettysburg
St. Lawrence

And check out the book Colleges that Change Lives, most all of which offer merit aid to strong students. Also, girls interested in SLACs should look into women's colleges, most of which offer generous merit aid to qualified students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think the question is not "Is it worth $X?" but "Is it worth $Z more than the alternative?"

I have been a TA, so I'm biased, but I don't think it's necessarily a bad thing to have an introductory college course taught by someone with no more than a master's degree. At that level, kids need you to have teaching skills more than they need you to have a deep knowledge of, say, Byron and the Privileged Outsider (or whatever your dissertation topic would be).

I went to a SLAC, and I liked knowing my professors well and having small classes. And warding off guilt kept me working hard: It's much less tempting to skip a class if you know there's a good change you'll be passing the professor on the quad. "Oh, hi! Yes, slight touch of scrofula but it cleared up in time for me to meet friends for coffee, ha ha!"

This might be true, but TAs are not chosen for their teaching skills. In fact, generally they are chosen without regard for their teaching skills.

Probably even truer of Professors!

Actually, professors at SLACs are far more likely to have been chosen on the basis of teaching skills than professors are research universities.

[Anonymous]

^^then professors *at* research universities.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some classes from SLACs may (note the "may") not transfer to other colleges/universities - unique classes.

And - a little related - if DC wants to do an advanced degree in a health field, it will be important to take the exact prerequisites. Certainly a capable SLAC advisor should offer the help needed.

I went to a groovy-but-rigorous SLAC and I can't imagine what you're thinking about.

I went from Antioch college to a rigorous SLAC and all my credits transferred except phys ed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think the question is not "Is it worth $X?" but "Is it worth $Z more than the alternative?"

I have been a TA, so I'm biased, but I don't think it's necessarily a bad thing to have an introductory college course taught by someone with no more than a master's degree. At that level, kids need you to have teaching skills more than they need you to have a deep knowledge of, say, Byron and the Privileged Outsider (or whatever your dissertation topic would be).

I went to a SLAC, and I liked knowing my professors well and having small classes. And warding off guilt kept me working hard: It's much less tempting to skip a class if you know there's a good change you'll be passing the professor on the quad. "Oh, hi! Yes, slight touch of scrofula but it cleared up in time for me to meet friends for coffee, ha ha!"

This might be true, but TAs are not chosen for their teaching skills. In fact, generally they are chosen without regard for their teaching skills.

Probably even truer of Professors!

Actually, professors at SLACs are far more likely to have been chosen on the basis of teaching skills than professors at research universities.

Yes and no. PhDs in general aren't taught how to teach and what you can see about someone's teaching ability over the course of a two-day interview is pretty limited. And people who come out of grad school with a teaching award will find that a plus on the job market at major research universities as well as SLACs. That said, certainly SLACs pay more attention than elite research universities do to teaching reviews when faculty members come up for tenure. Don't know what it's like at most state schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A good compromise is the research universities that run a LAC like college. The trade off is all the ones I can think of are basically lottery schools - Harvard, Yale, Princeton, UChicago, Dartmouth, Brown, Columbia, etc.

Harvard absolutely does not run like a college. It is a research university, full stop, with very little concern for undergrads.

http://harvardpolitics.com/harvard/harvard-undergraduates-teaching-harvard-doesnt-want-talk/

Swarthmore has undergraduate teaching assistants as well. The first time I heard of the practice was from a science professor touting the ability to be a TA as an undergraduate as one of the advantages of attending a SLAC.

Your comment is misleading. As a Swattie, I never had a TA, and neither did the vast majority of my classmates. There are tutors, research associates, and writing associates, but very, very, very few TAs. Maybe for a large (by which I mean 125 students) intro science class, but you aren't going to have TAs in the sense of research universities.