Reply to LACs are overrated.

Forum Index » College and University Discussion

Reply to "LACs are overrated."

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Plenty of people at
SLACs are STEM
majors. Swarthmore has an engineering program, and Amherst has a dual engineering program with Dartmouth. In other words, SLACs are not just for humanities.
[/quote]

Very, very few who are serious about a career in STEM would choose an LAC over, say, Georgia Tech. And they'd regret it immensely about 5 years post-grad and into their careers when they realize the head start that their peers at research unis and technical schools have over them.[/quote]

Of course the top producers of math and science PhDs on a per capita basis are LACs, but let's not quibble with mere trifles like facts.[/quote]

About 85% of all of the people I know with PhDs have major regrets about their chosen path, so the point still stands. There's an incredible amount of salary envy among even the highest-performing PhDs. This is something you would know if you actually knew any PhDs, which of course you don't. The self-deprecatory second thoughts come with the territory.[/quote]

Also, kids from MIT, Georgia Tech, UIUC, Caltech, Berkeley et al who are serious about getting a STEM PhD would be significantly better suited than one from the Swarthmores of the world. It's just that a much higher proportion of them choose to go into industry. It's a matter of choice, not aptitude.[/quote]

First of all, STEM is not all equal. Are most people who want to major in engineering probably better off at a tech school than a LAC? Probably. But that is not necessarily true for bio, chem, or math majors. As for the PP's comment about choosing to go into industry over getting a PhD, that's true for some I am sure. But many students who choose tech schools are more practically focused and many of those who choose LACs are more intellectually focused, so not surprising that the former would tend toward industry over PhD programs.[/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