Reply to Amherst College COA $92,816 per year

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]As a mid sized Ivy head sending DC to SLAC, I really do think you are getting the best undergraduate education available (excluding specialized programs only available at larger schools). The more time you can spend with professors, individually or in small groups, the better. Is it worth the money? Are there many other more important variables? That’s up to the customer to figure out but at least you are indeed getting a lot of valuable personalized attention for all those hundreds of thousands. [/quote]

But really, how much time do you need with professors?  Is this really going to be life changing?  It's nice, sure.  But even at the largest state schools you'll get this in junior and senior year classes.  And if you're a motivated student you can often get this in the first/second year courses too (the thing is that most kids don't even try).

I feel like this (professor time) is a a selling point of liberal arts colleges that we all recognize without really thinking if there is actually any measurable value to it.  It's the same with private high school. I'm guilty of paying a ton for private high school.  Sure, my kids are now in classes of 12-15 kids instead of 30.  But is there really any value add to this? They were doing just fine in the 30 kid classes too (they came from public).  There were plenty of teachers in the public school that were available for after hours time, individual time, etc.  They (the kids) just had to be more proactive to get it and most kids were not.  [/quote]

Maybe it’s not professor time per se but the general idea that the kid is going to be more engaged, more academic advising, etc. Look, at the end of the day, it’s a credential but to the extent anyone actually believes in the idea that our kids are actually there to be educated, grow intellectually, become better thinkers and writers, etc, I tend to think these smaller more attentive environments are better. [/quote]

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