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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]What is critical thinking in the context of LAC exactly?  See a lot of folks say this is important but not sure what they mean by it.

Alum of top research university for engineering and feel I do a lot of critical thinking, make a lot of decisions for other people, get paid a lot for it  but maybe idk what critical Thinking even is. Lol. [/quote]

Critical thinking is a bit of a cope when you can't find any other way to justify a style of education. Below is what I see as the actual value behind a LAC education. I have degrees from both an ivy and a large state school, and I have two kids at different top LACs.

1. In terms of reading volume, LAC > ivy > State u. LACs teach you to suggest larger quantities of textual information and spit out analysis. I think UChicago is the only research university that equals WASP in terms of reading load.

2. Emphasis on writing. Some LACs require multiple writing courses. Even the ones that don't, have smaller class sizes and professors give more feedback. I would venture that, controlling for verbal SAT score, LACs produce better writers than both ivies and state research universities.

3. ECs. LACs have drastically fewer students, but not that many fewer student government positions, sports teams, newspapers and literary journals, clubs, social events, etc. Accordingly, it's easier to acquire leadership experience, get your work published, get your feet wet organizing events, etc.

All of that is an elaborate way of saying that LACs build soft skills really well. Hard skills? Like engineering? Not so much. It's a trade-off, but one that can be worth it for careers like law, consulting, academia, journalism, entertainment, government and nonprofit work. It's not for everyone, but it works out for many.[/quote]
It's also a great start for many students in STEM, who may like having individualized attention. I know, for me, having a math major from an LAC was transformational-upper div mathematics seminar with 4 students and consistent guest speakers is practically unheard of for really good research universities, but I had that experience, and, unsurprisingly, everyone  in that seminar is now post-Phd, 3 in academia, and me, who left to do something completely unrelated for fun. LAC students have a lot more research funding and opportunities than when I went to college. Now add in REU preference, and it's a great start to a research career. Maybe tech doesn't respect the path, but a lot of students don't want to work for google or apple.[/quote]

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