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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I posted this once a few months ago but I'll post it again. DS did get into the SLAC of his choice - that's the only thing that's changed.

My son is interested in attending a SLAC, he's applied ED to a well-regarded (at least on DCUM) and hopefully he will get in.

I'm being brutally honest and telling you all something that I probably wouldn't admit to in person.

I have a science degree. In fact, I have earned a BS, MS and Doctorate in my field from a great academic institution, state university, tops in my field, etc. I'm regarded as being very smart, able to write well, etc. I have risen to the very top of my profession and earn about 500K per year.

But I when I'm around the liberal arts folks, I feel dumb. I"m not well rounded, I am not as mentally nimble, not as well written or spoken. My program did not allow for courses considered to be "fluff." Electives were from a list, core courses were from a list that were approved by the dept for my major. I worked my ass off to learn how to write, I did learn how to write for publication in grad school and of course for my PhD but scientific writing is different - I basically stink at other styles of writing.

So while I'm very knowledgeable in my field and intelligent, I'm not well-educated and I really regret not having a broader depth of knowledge, a stronger vocabulary, higher order critical thinking, the ability to integrate knowledge from various disciplines, etc.

I would love to engage on the Political forum (the reasonably intelligent posts, not the partisan diatribe crap) but honestly I would just get destroyed by some philosophy major. So, I lurk and basically keep my mouth shut.

Touring SLACs with my son, I fell in love and wish I had the opportunity to not just go to college to get a career, but to go to college for an education. I could still have my career.

So, I will encourage my kids to go the SLAC route, pick an interesting major and quite honestly, if they need another year or two to gain marketable skills I'm fine with helping them out. I want them to take this chance of a lifetime to become a well-rounded person.

So damn the graphs and the articles and the experts. I want my kids to be educated first, then we will work on a career. [/quote]

Great posting.  Thank you for sharing.

We're with you.  As parents, we also went the STEM route in our undergraduate days (as well as all our post-grad degrees).  It has served us well but, honestly, the older we get the more limited we see that those choices made us.  That is why we both are hoping that our children will go the liberal arts route although we'll support them no matter what direction they take.  Like you, we want well-rounded children.

Our children and, it sounds like yours, will succeed because they are high achieving with high expectations.  Their undergrad major won't make or break them.  And we firmly expect that they will be earning some sort of graduate degree, for the purpose of a career, whether that additional degree be a MA/MS, JD, MD or PhD.  
 [/quote]

We're highly educated non-STEM parents.  Our kid appears to be headed toward a science career, but is insistent about a getting a liberal arts education.  DC has been very clear that she wants to know what we know (-- and more!).  Personally, I'm glad she's going the STEM route (so much BS in the world today) and I don't perceive a categorical divide between STEM and non-STEM people wrt how well-educated they are.  Most people don't write well or read closely or think critically, or even use what they learned in college in their daily lives.  In the end I think it comes down more to personality and interests than what kind of college education you've had.  Although I guess I acted on the assumption that pre-collegiate education matters.  I feel deficient wrt sciences and foreign languages. And made sure DC got exposed to both much earlier than I did.  Turned out to be her favorite subjects.[/quote]

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