SLACs---good, bad and the ugly?

[Anonymous]

DD is in the process of beginning college search. We are perplexed with the on-going debate over SLACs. Readily admit that many (most?) are quite good. But, we are unlikely to qualify for FA. Query, is it really worth paying nearly $60,000 for a degree from an SLAC when there are multiple state schools available (?) Not intending to attack SLACs or their philosophy of teaching.

[Anonymous]

All depends on which SLAC and which state school. Harvard vs Cal State Fullerton? No contest.

[Anonymous]

Harvard is not a small liberal arts college.

[Anonymous]

"Worth it" in what sense? In one way, no, because you can get an undergraduate degree for much less. So you're going to have to define what aspect of it would justify paying more. What do you and your kid value, and how much are you willing to pay for it?

[Anonymous]

My DD just decided to attend a SLAC next year. We did qualify for some merit and financial aid, bringing total costs to within a few thousand of state schools.

One of the most appealing thing about SLACs is their size. DD (and I) really like that most of her classes, even as a freshman, will have 25 or fewer students. All classes are taught by professors and not grad students.

Small size is also an advantage for fostering community. And you can't beat rolling out of bed and having a five-minute or less walk to your first class in the morning.

Last week, I was able to two campus offices and speak to someone who could answer all my questions immediately. No bureaucracy.

Conversely, at a small school there will be less opportunity for other majors should she change her mind. And she's a little worried that a student body of just 2,500 means things will become too insular and she'll get cabin fever.

[Anonymous]

two younger siblings attended top 3 slac's (AWS).

The good: individualized attention, flexibility (as in less red-tape, open ended assignment dates, if you get in trouble they don't blindly get cops involved, etc), class size, interaction with professors outside of class/weekends/after office hours, focus, resources available per student.

The bad: career services & lack of scale or national name recognition across every industry sector (tons my siblings' are underemployed or struggled to find work - the only reason my siblings did ok was because I was on their ass' non-stop about meaningful internships since they were freshman in high school. They emailed and cold called/trolled for internships for so long that they ended up building good summer experiences at top places in the private sector and research universities so they had great offers coming out of college).

there is no question my siblings worked 3-4x harder on their own in getting internships and job offers compared to their peers that went to HYPSWM. OCI matters.

the ugly: the 'bubble' of going to a school under 2500 kids can get suffocating.

[Anonymous]

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.

[Anonymous]

It seems your issue is private colleges or OOS high tuition colleges vs instate options. That's very different than SLAC v. university. My DC is at an OOS flagship university that costs nearly the same as my DC at a SLAC. She is majoring in an academic subject (not in a professional school). So from a value perspective there isn't much difference in my view. The university does have a good career office, name recognition, and alumni network but not sure yet if that will translate into job prospects if you aren't in engineering or business. So then it comes down to small v. large. One of my kids wanted small, the other large.

Some people claim the undergraduate teaching at SLACs is better. I think that used to be true. I am not sure it is still true based on my kids experiences.

If you live in a state with good instate options and the school offers what your child is interested in then certainly that should be considered relative to a SLAC, an OOS school, or a large private university.

[Anonymous]

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.

[Anonymous]

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/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Harvard is not a small liberal arts college.

Neither is Cal State Fullerton.

[Anonymous]

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.

The difference between the top SLACs and second tier SLACs is generally pretty small. Kids with the chops to get into top SLACs often will get substantial merit awards at second tier schools. If you or your kid values the SLAC model, that is the affordable way to go.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My DD just decided to attend a SLAC next year. We did qualify for some merit and financial aid, bringing total costs to within a few thousand of state schools.

One of the most appealing thing about SLACs is their size. DD (and I) really like that most of her classes, even as a freshman, will have 25 or fewer students. All classes are taught by professors and not grad students.

Small size is also an advantage for fostering community. And you can't beat rolling out of bed and having a five-minute or less walk to your first class in the morning.

Last week, I was able to two campus offices and speak to someone who could answer all my questions immediately. No bureaucracy.

Conversely, at a small school there will be less opportunity for other majors should she change her mind. And she's a little worried that a student body of just 2,500 means things will become too insular and she'll get cabin fever.

I don't understand how this can really be an issue when every year 600 new students arrive. But then I work in an office of 35 and live in a household of 4, so I guess 2500 seems pretty big to me, lol.

[Anonymous]

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.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Harvard is not a small liberal arts college.

Neither is Cal State Fullerton.

But it is a state school and the PP who mentioned it and Harvard was comparing SLACs and state schools.