Reply to Should LACs no longer be considered the model of excellence?

Forum Index » College and University Discussion

Reply to "Should LACs no longer be considered the model of excellence?"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]LACs are hardly "bastions of intellectualism or genius" either.  They are high-touch schools for the mostly wealthy who expect to get what they're paying for -- connections, a high GPA, admission to grad/professional school, a certain amount of tolerance for youthful transgressions.

Doesn't mean you can't get an excellent education in them (frankly, a smart, hard-working kid who is actively seeking an excellent education can get it almost anywhere -- though those kids are extremely rare).  But the education LACs deliver is in no way inherently superior to the education that major research universities have to offer.  LACs aren't and never have been a model of academic excellence.

For most kids, college is getting your ticket punched.  Among certain UMC demographics (East Coast professionals[/quote]

:roll: Right, you tell yourself that if it makes you feel better. Don't bother explaining why Harvard decided to look at Williams and Amherst when it was thinking of fixing its poorly regarded undergraduate teaching, or Northwestern/Stanford to Harvey Mudd to better support students in CS. Or why Wall Street Journal named Pomona and Haverford in the top ten colleges for "Where Great Research Meets Great Teaching" and none of the Ivies. Or why notoriously rigorous Carleton and Harvey Mudd enjoy some of the highest RateMyProfessors teacher ratings of any college in the country.

Want some student surveys? Sure. Don't bother to explain this; it's not like these surveys were rated by actual students or anything (source: Niche). Clearly there's a group of LAC lovers who fake reviews to make them look better! Don't believe the hype, people!

UCLA--
86% of students say professors are passionate about the topics they teach. 324 responses
69% of students say professors are engaging and easy to understand. 323 responses
71% of students say professors care about their students' success. 323 responses
72% of students agree professors are approachable and helpful when needed. 324 responses

U'Penn--
92% of students say professors are passionate about the topics they teach. 90 responses
72% of students say professors are engaging and easy to understand. 92 responses
75% of students say professors care about their students' success. 92 responses
76% of students agree professors are approachable and helpful when needed. 92 responses

Vassar--
97% of students say professors are passionate about the topics they teach. 35 responses
91% of students say professors are engaging and easy to understand. 35 responses
97% of students say professors care about their students' success. 35 responses
91% of students agree professors are approachable and helpful when needed. 35 responses

Middlebury--
100% of students say professors are passionate about the topics they teach. 39 responses
97% of students say professors are engaging and easy to understand. 39 responses
100% of students say professors care about their students' success. 39 responses
97% of students agree professors are approachable and helpful when needed. 39 responses[/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics