It’s a four-year investment, so you want to get the most out of your college experience. That’s why you should consider attending a liberal arts college where your personal achievement is important to everyone there, not just to you personally.

However, many people misunderstand what the liberal arts really are. Not only is there confusion about the value of the liberal arts, but many people really don’t understand what it is or where it came from. In order to dispel the confusion, we need to talk about the difference between a liberal arts college and a liberal arts education.

What is a Liberal Arts education?

A liberal arts education is the traditional curriculum originally established by the historically elite colleges, including the Ivy League schools.  The small liberal arts colleges, of course, offer the curriculum, as do most of the nation’s flagship universities–where it is offered in the “college of liberal arts” of the university.  

A liberal arts education was meant to foster a broad, Classical education in which the arts and letters–as well as sciences and social studies–were taught to the intellectual and economic elite of the United States. Originally, Christian theology was also part of the curriculum, as the Ivies were all affiliated with one protestant sect or another.  

The idea was that an education was a broad intellectual exploration to prepare graduates for a deep appreciation of the world and its wonders, including (but not limited to) the arts:  literature, art, music, drama, and the finer things of life. Government and economics also were part of the mix, as were the natural sciences and mathematics. 

History of the liberal arts:  education for the rich and powerful

Consider that back the 18th and 19th centuries, the consumers of this sort of education were the rich, primarily. Most students were sons of wealthy landowners and industrialists and businessmen who would go on to either take over their family businesses or make their mark on their own. While the liberal arts were primarily for men, women’s colleges also sprang up to educate girls in the liberal arts.  Some Ivies had their affiliated women’s colleges (e.g., Radcliffe at Harvard and Pembroke at Brown), while other liberal arts colleges served the educational aspirations of upper class women, including Connecticut College, Smith, Mount Holyoke, Mills, and Bryn Mawr among others.

To put a point to it, a liberal arts education was never meant to be a credential for a job. The people with such an education would not ever have to worry about getting a job. These were, after all, the children of America’s elite (some might even use the word “aristocracy”) who would never really need to worry about being employed, as daddy’s network of the “old boys” would help their sons get a leg up in the economy and help their daughters “marry well” within the upper classes.

The structure of a liberal arts curriculum

Today, the liberal arts curriculum generally denotes a structured 4-year program that is broad in scope and not closely aligned with any particular job or career.  A liberal arts student is required to take a number of “general education” courses that force the student to explore a wide variety of academic disciplines in the arts and humanities, the social sciences, and mathematics and natural sciences. This general education requirement comprises about 25-35% of all courses the student takes in four years of undergraduate study.

The major also comprises about 35% of the courses a student takes. It is a way for the student to specialize in a particular academic discipline to dive more deeply to gain a further appreciation of that discipline and develop a relative expertise.  But in most cases a major is only about 10 courses out of the 32 or so a student may take as an undergraduate, so the expertise is not nearly as deep as one expects in a Masters or Doctoral program. 

Finally, liberal arts students must take a certain number of elective courses, for which there are very few constraints, intellectually or administratively. Students are encourage to follow their own curiosities and learn about whatever tickles their intellectual fancy.  Electives also comprise 25-35% of a student’s course load over four years. 

What a liberal arts education is not

As you can see, the goal of a liberal arts education is not deep specialization in an academic discipline, nor is it specific preparation for a career. As was true historically, anyone wishing to pursue a professional career in things like medicine or law would have to pursue a graduate degree.  

It wasn’t until around the time of the Industrial Revolution that colleges and universities–mostly the public ones–began to offer professional degrees in things like engineering (to fuel the Industrial Revolution itself), agriculture (to apply the sciences to production of crops and livestock), and business (to handle the increasing complexity of enormous corporations). The so-called “land grant” universities were established by state governments (with federal participation) expressly for the purpose of providing educational programs that would propel the economic growth of the nation.

At first, these two different sorts of “liberal arts” and “professional” educational models existed side by side, in that the newer public universities offered both sorts of curricula side by side. In many cases, however, different institutions in a single state focused on one model or the other.  The University of Michigan tended to serve the more “liberal arts” oriented students, with Michigan State offering the more professional programs. The rivalry between the University of Texas at Austin and the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas (now Texas A&M) is a vestige of these rival forms of education.  

What is a Liberal Arts College?

Simply, a liberal arts college (or LAC) is a school that exclusively offers a liberal arts curriculum. A university may offer a liberal arts curriculum in one unit or school of the institution, but it also likely offers degrees in professions like engineering, business, or nursing.

The fact is that professional models of education have become more and more pervasive since the last quarter of the 18th Century.  Now we have professional, undergraduate degree diplomas in music therapy, dental hygiene, digital marketing, data science, graphic design, kinesiology, and an entire Cheesecake Factory menu of subjects that prepare graduates for very, very specific career trajectories. 

Meanwhile, the liberal arts are dwindling in popularity:  what the heck can you do with a history degree (a whole lot, as it turns out, but more on that later)? Today’s students and their families prefer a college diploma that will have a clear impact on their professional futures and economic security.

The Ivies: the original liberal arts colleges 

The liberal arts still reign supreme at the Ivy League schools and at many of the most prestigious colleges and university in the country. Columbia, in particular, jealously guards its classical liberal arts curriculum. The University of Chicago has a liberal arts core. And most of the Ivies (except Brown) still require general education courses or distributive requirements to ensure a broad education. 

Interestingly, today’s wealthy are still willing to pay for liberal arts degrees. Nearly half–or more–of the students at such liberal arts bastions as Princeton, Yale, Brown, and Dartmouth pay the full price of tuition.  Why?  Because the liberal arts model is where you will surround yourself not only with the knowledge of the ages, but with peers who share your economic class.  The rich still send their kids to study literature, the Classics, art history, and the natural sciences like chemistry, biology, geology, and physics. 

But those who are not as rich or powerful still want their kids to hobnob with the economic elite. But these families with intelligent, motivated students tend to be less enthusiastic about letting their kids study art history or philosophy or even psychology unless there is a clear economic payoff after graduation. 

Professional education now exists some of the Ivies

Fortunately there are some venerable, historic universities that offer more professional majors.  The Ivies, for example, all now offer computer science majors and most offer some form of engineering. Penn offers a business undergraduate degree as well as a full-fledged college of engineering (Dartmouth, by contrast, offers engineering only within the framework of the liberal arts, meaning that engineering students must attend for 5 years in order to get both a BA and a BEng).  Cornell is weird, because it was the original “land grant” institution in New York (think about what might happen if University of Michigan and Michigan State had been rolled into one). Cornell’s several schools are divided into those that are publicly funded (primarily the more professionally oriented schools) while the college of arts and sciences is private:  the two forms of education live side by side on the same campus, but with vastly different priorities and administrative structures. 

Today’s liberal arts colleges

But a certain group of colleges remain steadfastly dedicated to the liberal arts:  the liberal arts colleges.  These are among the oldest and most prestigious schools in the United States.  Many are in the northeast, but the Midwest is home to many (Oberlin, Grinnell, and Macalester, for example). Only a few exist in the the South (Davidson, Millsaps, Wofford, Furman) and the West has fewer still (Colorado College and the Claremont Colleges of California being among the most prestigious in a region dominated by public institutions). 

These colleges steadfastly cling to a form of education that some find outdated or at least intellectually self-indulgent. These colleges maintain their focus on liberal arts majors, even as public institutions eliminate their philosophy, English literature, geography, and foreign language majors in favor of professional degrees in occupational therapy, sports management, and criminology. 

Arguments about the value of a liberal arts education continue to rage, and probably will for quite some time. Part of the background noise behind these arguments is the exorbitant cost of higher education in this country. If the cost of an undergraduate degree is approaching $100,000 per year, how can one justify studying art history? 

Bowdoin College’s liberal arts Offer

Rather than refute critics of the liberal arts, I’ll just point you toward the “Offer” of Bowdoin College, a venerable liberal arts college on the coast of Maine. I’ll just quote it here.  But notice that nothing in the offer focuses on the economic value of the education on offer. This is not about ROI (“return on investment”). This is about something more grand, more ethereal, and (for your author who is an unabashed fan of the liberal arts) more inspiring.

The Offer of the College

To be at home in all lands and all ages;
To count Nature a familiar acquaintance, and Art an intimate friend;
To gain a standard for the appreciation of others’ work
And the criticism of your own;
To carry the keys of the world’s library in your pocket,
And feel its resources behind you in whatever task you undertake;
To make hosts of friends… Who are to be leaders in all walks of life;
To lose yourself in generous enthusiasms
And cooperate with others for common ends –
This is the offer of the college for the best four years of your life.

Adapted from the original “Offer of the College”
by William DeWitt Hyde, President of Bowdoin College 1885–1917

A video defense of the liberal arts and Bowdoin’s Offer

Below is a video of my explanation of the Bowdoin Offer. It’s a pretty good defense of both a liberal arts education and the liberal arts colleges that offer this sort of education. The video is a little dated, however, and neither the resolution nor the sound is as good as even the worst of today’s TikTok shorts. But have a look and/or read the transcript at the bottom of this post.

The advantages of liberal arts colleges

Here are a few ways that liberal arts colleges cater to their students with a truly student-focused approach, even as they deliver their liberal arts education program.  

Liberal arts colleges offers small classes

You’ll never be lost in the crowd at a liberal arts school. Small class sizes allow for deep discussion and thorough understanding for every student. You’ll have plenty of opportunity to share your own thoughts, as well as hear from your peers.

The colleges themselves are among the smallest in the country, with enrollments well under 5000 students. Classes rarely have more than 25 or 30 students in them, and many may have only 8 or 10.  This model of education is expensive. Given this, is it so surprising that liberal arts colleges like Colorado College have very high percentages of students who come from America’s richest families? 

The value of the small liberal arts college is the unparalleled access students have to their instructors.  The intimacy of the classroom experience means that students get to know one another well on a basis of shared curiosity and exploration. 

So if you’re looking for an environment where you will be intellectually challenged, both inside and outside the classroom, a liberal arts college could be the perfect environment for you.

Professors Who Know Your Name

Intimate class sizes also give you the opportunity to really know your professors. Nationwide, liberal arts colleges average 11 students per faculty member. Professors at liberal arts colleges aren’t just there to lecture for an hour and go home. They’re ready to answer your questions, look over your papers and recommend great reads.

But many liberal arts professors don’t stop there. You might grab a coffee with them after class to discuss your research paper. You might share articles on topics of shared interest. Or you might yourself having dinner with their family. Liberal arts professors don’t just care about your academic welfare; they care about you.

Faculty incentives are different in liberal arts college than in major research universities. Teaching is more highly valued at liberal arts colleges–even as research is also encouraged and supported. Thus the faculty who teach at liberal arts colleges also value teaching–and they hone their craft. And undergraduate students are the beneficiaries of a teaching-focused institution. 

By contrast, many faculty at many research institutions find undergraduate teaching to be a necessary but unenjoyable aspect of being a professor. And large institutions are more likely to have armies of low-paid graduate teaching assistants who deliver most of the undergraduate education–grading papers and exams and leading labs and discussion sections–while professors just hone their lectures and spend most of their time doing independent research with the graduate and post-graduate students. 

A Well-Rounded Education

A school’s liberal arts focus ensures you aren’t just an expert in one subject, but well-versed in many topics. English majors and biochemistry majors find common ground at liberal arts institutions–because they might share a general education psychology class or decide to take the same geology elective. With a liberal arts degree, you will be prepared to critically assess and engage the world. You will have the breadth of knowledge necessary to discuss and evaluate your ideas and philosophies. You will be challenged and challenge others. And your growth will last a lifetime.

Further, a liberal arts graduate learns to learn unfamiliar subjects and topics. They become the proverbial “quick study.”  Because they have to take the “general education” requirements as well as enroll in electives with which they may not have any previous familiarity, they have to absorb new material quickly and deeply–just to pass the exams and write the papers for the semester. 

In this way, a liberal arts education prepares students for a rapidly changing world–and economy–by equipping them with a broad set of analytical and communications tools. A liberal arts college will arm you to handle any professional challenge that the world throws at you. 

It it any wonder, then, that so many national leaders in so many different fields have liberal arts degrees? 

Undergraduate Research Opportunities at a Liberal Arts College

While teaching is highly valued by liberal arts college, research is also important and faculty are expected to engage in it. But since LACs do not have droves of graduate students with a deeper understanding of a professor’s area of research, professors turn to their undergraduate students to help them. Thus liberal arts students–surprisingly–get some of the best experiences with hands-on research in science labs and document archives.

While the labs at liberal arts colleges may not be as large or as well-equipped as those at a Carnegie I research university, the LAC also doesn’t have gobs of graduate and post-doctoral students who get first crack at the plum jobs in that lab (while the undergraduate cleans the Petri dishes and feeds the mice).

At a liberal arts college, you’ll have the possibility to get hands-on experience in your field. Professors don’t expect you to have lots of credentials before you begin researching with them. They equip you with both the preparation and on-the-job training you’ll need to research well.

With undergraduate research experience, you will stand out on graduate school applications. You will attract employers and excel in jobs for which you already have the skills. Plus, will leave a mark on the scholarship of your school that will last long after you’ve graduated.

Do you need help exploring liberal arts colleges and a liberal arts education?

The counselors at Great College Advice are well aware of the value of the liberal arts, and each one of us has pursued that form of education in our own lives at places like Dartmouth, Stanford, Columbia, Grinnell, and Colgate.  We, ourselves, have benefitted (and continue to benefit) from the well-rounded educations we received.  If you are wondering if this sort of education could serve you well, then contact us by filling out this form.

Even if you’re not sure that a liberal arts college is for you, we can help you better understand the wide range of educational options available to you, and help you make the right choice for you. A liberal arts education is not for everyone. Wherever you are in your decision-making process, we would be delighted to help you discover the path that is right for you.

VIDEO TRANSCRIPT:

I’m here on the campus of Bowdoin College, a small liberal arts college in Brunswick, Maine. I just finished walking through the music building, and before that I was in the science building. Then I went to the theater building over here, and then there’s a humanities building over here. All within very close proximity.

And that made me start thinking about what is a liberal arts education, and then I looked at what the mission of Bowdoin is. Bowdoin has what they call the Offer of Bowdoin College. It was written over 100 years ago, and I think it’s a really great explanation of what a liberal arts education is all about. The Offer was written in 1906 and it says this:

To be at home in all lands and all ages. To count Nature a familiar acquaintance, and Art an intimate friend. To carry the keys of the world’s library in your pocket, and feel its resources behind you in whatever task you undertake. To make hosts of friends…who are to be leaders in all walks of life. Lose yourself in generous enthusiasms and cooperate with others for common ends. This is the offer of the college for the best four years of your life.

Not a vocational education

A liberal arts education is not at all a vocational preparation. Rather, it’s a way for a young person to expand his or her mind, gain knowledge, gain skills, that will carry you throughout all of your life, not only in your profession, but also in the other activities that we do in our lives to contribute to society. Also in the ways that we interact with our fellow human beings.

This is really a liberal arts education. It’s not just about getting a job. It’s about training for life, for intellectual pursuits, spiritual pursuits, and human pursuits. So a liberal arts education really is different from those kinds of technical schools where you’re learning to prepare for a particular job. In a liberal arts college, the whole philosophy is different. You’re preparing yourself for life.

The post The Mission of Liberal Arts Colleges first appeared on Great College Advice.

Never mind that the drop-out rate from STEM majors is very high, especially at large universities. In fact, the graduation rate for STEM majors in liberal arts colleges tends to be quite high–because faculty work hard to ensure that students interested in the sciences actually make it through these difficult majors. 

Notable Alumni Of Albion College, Albion, MI  

• Rick Smith, ’68, Former editor-in-chief of Newsweek
• Stanley Kresge–founder of Kmart
• Cedric Dempsey–former Executive Director of the NCAA

Notable Alumni Of Allegheny College, Meadville, PA  

• Clarence Darrow – noted American lawyer in the Scopes Monkey Trials.
• William McKinley – 25th President of the United States

Notable Alumni Of Augsburg College, Minneapolis, MN  

• Dr. Peter Agre, 2003 Nobel Prize winner in chemistry
• Rev. Mark Hanson: Currently the Presiding Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
• Martin Sabo. Former U.S. Representative from Minnesota. Served in the House from 1979-2007

Notable Alumni Of Augustana College (IL)

• Brenda Barnes, CEO of Sara Lee

Notable Alumni Of Bard College

• Chevy Chase, actor

Notable Alumni Of Barnard College, New York, NY

• Martha Stewart, designer, author, publisher, home guru

Notable Alumni Of Bates College, Lewiston, ME

• Dom DeLuise, Class of 1955, American Golden Globe-nominated actor, comedian, film director, and chef
• Bryant Gumbel, Class of 1970, American television journalist
• Michelle Chong, Class of 2000, actress in Singapore television and film
• Daniel Stedman, Class of 2001, Cannes Film Festival-winning filmmaker
• Frances Carroll, Class of 1939, and John Googin, Class of 1944, Manhattan Project scientists
• Edith K. MacRae, Class of 1940, Biochemist at M.I.T., the first female on the biology faculty

Notable Alumni Of Bowdoin College, Brunswick, ME

• William Cohen, Class of 1962, Secretary of Defense in the Clinton administration 1997-2001

Notable Alumni Of Bucknell University, Lewisburg, PA

• Kenneth Langone, the CEO of Home Depot

Notable Alumni Of Butler University, Indianapolis, IN

• Arthur C. Cope American chemist and originator of the Cope elimination and Cope rearrangement
• George Daugherty (Conductor of major American and International symphony orchestras; Emmy Winner and 5 time Emmy nominee.)
• Jay B. Love (CEO of eTapestry)

Notable Alumni Of Carleton College, Northfield, MN

• Peter Tork, musician, and member rock band “The Monkees”
• Thorstein Veblen, class of 1880, American economist and author of The Theory of the Leisure Class.
• Barrie M. Osborne, class of 1966, producer of the Lord of the Rings film trilogy.
• Jack Barnes, class of 1961, was the leader of the Socialist Workers Party (USA).
• Garrick Utley, class of 1961, journalist.

Notable Alumni Of Carroll College

• Steven Burd, CEO of Safeway

Notable Alumni Of Carthage College, Kenosha, WI

• Alden W. Clausen, former President of the World Bank

Notable Alumni Of Claremont Mckenna College, Claremont, CA

• Henry Kravis ’67 and  George R. Roberts ’66- Founding partners, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. (KKR)

Notable Alumni Of Colgate University, Hamilton, NY

• Howard Fineman the Chief Political Correspondent of Newsweek
• Andy Rooney, humorist on TV’s “60 Minutes”
• Bob Woodruff, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist

Notable Alumni Of Colorado College, Colorado Springs, CO

• Ken Salazar, United States Secretary of the Interior, Former United States Senator from Colorado
• James Heckman, class of ’65, winner of the 2000 Nobel Prize for Economics
• Jane Lubchenco ’69, head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
• Neal Baer ’78, physician and executive producer and writer of “ER” and “Law & Order”
• Marcia McNutt ’74, director of the U.S. Geological Survey
• Abdul Aziz Abdul Ghani ‘62, former prime minister of Yemen

Notable Alumni Of Davidson College, Davidson, NC

• Stephen MacMillan, CEO of Stryker
• Dean Rusk, United States Secretary of State (1961-1969)
• Charles Wright, Pulitzer Prize-winning poet, chancellor of The Academy of American Poets, winner of the Library of Congress’ lifetime achievement Rebekah Johnson Bobbitt National Prize for Poetry award
• John Chidsey, CEO, Burger King, Inc. (2006-current)

Notable Alumni Of Denison University, Granville, OH

• Michael Eisner, former CEO of Disney
• Steve Carell, film and television actor

Notable Alumni Of the University Of Denver, Denver, CO

• David Adkins, the comedian known as “Sinbad”
• Andrew Rosenthal, editorial page editor, The New York Times
• Condoleeza Rice, former United States Secretary of State and National Security Adviser
• Peter Morton, founder, of the Hard Rock Cafe chain
• Heidi Ganahl, founder, of Camp Bow Wow chain
• Ibrahim A. Assaf, finance minister, Saudi Arabia
• Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, chairman, Emirates Airlines

Notable Alumni Of Depauw University, Greencastle, IN

• Lee Hamilton – co-chair of the Iraq Study Group, vice chair of the 9/11 Commission, and retired United States Representative
• Vernon Jordan Jr. – noted broker and executive, former president of the National Urban League, advisor to Bill Clinton
• Percy Julian – research chemist of international renown and a pioneer in the chemical synthesis of medicinal drugs
• Barbara Kingsolver – contemporary fiction writer, founder of Bellwether Prize for “literature of social change”
• Dan Quayle – 44th Vice President of the United States under George H. W. Bush
• Ferid Murad ’58, Nobel Prize recipient
• James Stewart ’73, Pulitzer Prize-winning author
• Angie Hicks ’95, CEO, Founder of Angie’s List

Notable Alumni Of Earlham College, Richmond, IN

• Laura Sessions Stepp – Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist for

Notable Alumni Of Emory And Henry College, Emory, VA

• Richard Joshua Reynolds, founder of R.J. Reynolds Tobacco

Notable Alumni Of Eureka College, Eureka, IL

• Ronald Reagan, President of the United States

Notable Alumni Of Gonzaga University, Spokane, WA

• Bing Crosby, Actor and Singer
• Tom Foley, former Speaker of the United States House of Representatives

Notable Alumni Of Grinnell College, Grinnell, IA

• Gary Cooper, screen actor
• Robert Noyce (founder of Intel, inventor of the microchip)
• Herbie Hancock, a jazz musician
• Joseph Welch (“Have you no sense of decency, sir? At long last, have you left no sense of decency?”)
• Tom Cech ’70, 1989 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
• Ed Hirsch, ’72, Poet and President of the Guggenheim Foundation
• Nordahl Brue ’67, cofounder of Bruegger’s Bagels
• Emily Bergl ’97, actress

Notable Alumni Of Hamilton College, Clinton, NY

• B.F. Skinner, Psychologist
• A. G. Lafley, class of 1969; CEO of Procter & Gamble; ; named one of America’s Best Leaders by US News
• Dan Nye, class of 1988; Former CEO of LinkedIn
• Melinda Wagner, class of 1979 – winner of the 1999 Pulitzer Prize in Music Composition

Notable Alumni Of Haverford College, Haverford, PA

• Howard Lutnick ’83, Chairman and CEO of the Cantor Fitzgerald Company
• Juan Williams ’76 Philosophy, National Public Radio senior correspondent
• Dave Barry ’69 English, Pulitzer Prize-winning humor columnist
• Daniel Dae Kim, television actor (“Lost”), with a major in political science

Notable Alumni Of Hiram College, Hiram, OH

• Dean Scarborough, CEO of Avery Dennison (the labels people!)

Notable Alumni Of Hollins University, Roanoke, VA

• Margaret Wise Brown, author of Goodnight Moon (one of my personal favorites!)

Notable Alumni Of Ithaca College, Ithaca, NY

• Robert Iger, CEO of Disney (who succeeded Michel Eisner of Denison)
• Jessica Savitch (B.S. 1968), the first female network news anchor
• Chris Regan (1989), Emmy Award-winning writer for The Daily Show from 1999-2006.
• Barbara Gaines (B.A. 1979), Emmy Award-winning executive producer, Late Show with David Letterman

Notable Alumni Of Kenyon College, Gambier, OH

• Rutherford B. Hayes, President of the United States
• Olaf Palme, Prime Minister of Sweden
• Carl Djerassi, Creator of the birth control pill, winner of the National Medal of Science
• Laura Hillenbrand, writer, and author of Seabiscuit: An American Legend
• James Wright, Poet, Winner of the Pulitzer Prize
• Paul Newman, Actor, winner of Emmy Award and Academy Award
• E.L. Doctorow— Award-winning novelist
• Allison Janney–Emmy-winning actress (“The West Wing”)

Notable Alumni Of Lawrence University, Appleton, WI

• Thomas Steitz (’62), 2009 Nobel Prize for Chemistry
• Campbell Scott (’82), film and television actor
• Tom Oreck (’73), president and CEO of the Oreck Corporation
• Terry Moran (’82), Anchor of ABC News “Nightline”

Notable Alumni Of Macalester College, St. Paul, MN

• Kofi Annan, former Secretary General of the United Nations

Notable Alumni Of Middlebury College, Middlebury, VT

• Lado Gurgenidze, Prime Minister of Georgia
• Dan Schulman, CEO of Virgin Mobile USA
• Vivian Schiller, CEO of National Public Radio
• Reuben Mark, former CEO of Colgate-Palmolive
• Jim Davis, Chairman of New Balance,and listed in the top 400 of Forbes’ wealthiest Americans
• Eve Ensler, playwright, The Vagina Monologues
• Sam Daly, television actor (“The Office”)
• Members of the band “Dispatch”:   Chad Urmston, Brad Corrigan, and Pete Heimbold

Notable Alumni Of Millsaps College, Jackson, MS

• Johnny Carson, former TV host of The Tonight Show on NBC
• Lisa D’Amour, Obie Award-winning playwright

Notable Alumni Of Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley, MA

• Emily Dickinson 1848
• Frances Perkins 1902, the first woman to be appointed to a presidential cabinet (by FDR)
• Dr. Virginia Apgar 1929, developer of the Apgar score, an internationally recognized test for evaluating the health of newborns
• Virginia Hamilton Adair 1933, Poet
• Ella Grasso 1940, first woman governor elected in her own right; recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom
• Gloria Johnson-Powell 1958, first African American woman to attain tenure at Harvard Medical School
• Elaine Chao 1975, former US Secretary of Labor
• Wendy Wasserstein 1971, playwright, winner of the Tony Award, the Dramatists Guild Award, and the Pulitzer Prize.
• Priscilla Painton 1980, editor-in-chief, Simon & Schuster; former executive editor, Time magazine

Notable Alumni Of Muskingum College, New Concord, OH

• John Glenn, Astronaut, Senator, Candidate for President of the United States

Notable Alumni Of New School, New York, NY

• Jack Kerouac, author

Notable Alumni Of Oberlin College

• Jeff Greenfield, founder of Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream

Notable Alumni Of Oklahoma City University, Oklahoma City, OK

• Kristin Chenowith, Tony and Emmy award-winning actor

Notable Alumni Of Pomona College, Claremont, CA

• Robert Shaw, noted choral conductor
• Kris Kristofferson, singer, songwriter, and actor (and Rhodes Scholar!)

Notable Alumni Of Providence College

• Raymond Flynn, former Mayor of Boston
• Rich Gotham, President, Boston Celtics
• Jack Tretton, CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment
• Arthur F. Ryan, former CEO of Prudential

Notable Alumni Of Reed College

• Kate Christensen, 1986 – novelist, winner of the 2008 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction
• Peter Norton, 1965 – creator of the Norton Utilities
• Larry Sanger, 1991 – co-founder of Wikipedia

Notable Alumni Of Ripon College, Ripon, WI

• Harrison Ford, actor (“Raiders of the Lost Ark”)
• Richard Threlkeld, television news correspondent with CBS for 25 years

Notable Alumni Of Roanoke College

• John McAfee, founder of McAfee
• Jay Piccola, President of Puma North America

Notable Alumni Of St. John’s University, Collegeville, MN

• Eugene McCarthy, former U.S. Senator, author, and Presidential candidate
• Denis McDonough (’92), Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications to President Barack Obama.
• George Sinner (’50), Governor of North Dakota 1985-1992
• Stephen Sommers, movie director

Notable Alumni Of St. Olaf College, Northfield, MN

• Ward Klein, CEO of Energizer Holdings (think of the bunny…)

Notable Alumni Of Sarah Lawrence College

• Rahm Emmanuel, a former member of the US House of Representatives, Chief of Staff to President Barack Obama

Notable Alumni Of Southwestern University, Georgetown, TX

• John Tower – U.S. Senator from Texas (1961–1988)

Notable Alumni Of Stetson University

• Larry Johnston, CEO of Albertson’s

Notable Alumni Of Swarthmore College

• Michael Dukakis, Presidential Candidate and former Governor of Massachusetts
• James Michener, historical novelist

Notable Alumni Of Trinity College, Washington, DC

• Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives (the first woman to hold the office)
• Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of Health and Human Services, former Governor of Kansas

Notable Alumni Of Tufts University, Medford, MA

• Jamie Dimon, CEO of J.P. Morgan Chase & Co.

Notable Alumni Of Union College

• Richard Templeton, CEO of Texas Instruments

Notable Alumni Of Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, NY

• Meryl Streep, film actress
• Lisa Kudrow, television actress (“Friends”)

Notable Alumni Of Washington And Lee University

• Pat Robertson, Christian televangelist
• Mike Henry, writer for the television series “Family Guy”
• Fielder Cook, Director and Producer of the classic television series, “The Waltons”
• Meriwether Lewis, explorer and private secretary to Thomas Jefferson

Notable Alumni Of Wellesley College, Wellesley, MA

• Hillary Rodham Clinton, US Secretary of State and former Senator from New York

Notable Alumni Of Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT

• Bill Belichick, ’75—Head coach, New England Patriots, winner of three Super Bowls
• Michael Bennet ’87—U.S. senator from Colorado; previously superintendent of schools in Denver
• D. Ronald Daniel ’52—Director and former CEO, McKinsey and Company; former treasurer, Harvard Corporation
• Christopher Graves ’81—President and CEO, Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide
• Daniel Handler ’92—Author (under the pseudonym Lemony Snicket) of A Series of Unfortunate Events children’s book series
• Herb Kelleher ’53—Founder and former chairman, president and CEO, of Southwest Airlines
• Randall Pinkston ’72—Emmy Award-winning television journalist; correspondent, CBS News
• Bradley Whitford ’81—Film and television actor (The West Wing—Emmy award, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, Billy Madison, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants)

Notable Alumni Of Wheaton College, Norton, MA

• Christine Todd Whitman – Former Governor of New Jersey and former head of the E.P.A., appointed by George W. Bush in 2001.
• Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck – King of Bhutan
• Prince Shad Al-Sherif Pasha of The Hijaz & Turkey
• Catherine Keener (Oscar-nominated actress (“Being John Malkovich”  “Capote”)

Notable Alumni Of Wheeling Jesuit University, Wheeling, WV

• Michael Mulligan, former CEO of Mapquest
• Lionel Cartwright, Country Musician

Notable Alumni Of Whitman College, Walla Walla, WA

• Keiko Agena, actress (“Gilmore Girls”)
• Adam West, actor (“Batman,” “Family Guy”)
• Ralph Cordiner, CEO and Chairman of General Electric
• William O. Douglas, United States Supreme Court Justice

Notable Alumni Of Whittier College, Whittier, CA

• Richard Nixon, President of the United States

Notable Alumni Of Williams College, Williamstown, MA

• Stephen Sondheim, composer
• Arthur Levitt, longest serving Commissioner of the Securities and Exchange Commission
• George Steinbrenner, owner of the New York Yankees
• James Garfield, President of the United States
• A.R. Gurney, playwright
• Clarence Otis, CEO of Darden Restaurants (Red Lobster and Olive Garden)
• Thomas Krens, former director of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation in New York City
• Elia Kazan, film director
• Lee Hom Wang, one of the most popular Chinese pop music stars worldwide

Notable Alumni Of Wofford College, Spartanburg, SC

• Michael J. Copps, Commissioner of the Federal Trade Commission
• Paul S. Atkins, Commissioner of Securities and Exchange Commission
• Jerry Richardson, owner of the Carolina Panthers

Notable Alumni Of College Of Wooster, Wooster, OH

• Karl Taylor Compton, past president of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• Stephen Donaldson, New York Times best-selling author
• Stanley Gault,  Former CEO of Rubbermaid
• George Fitch, Co-founder of the Jamaican Bobsled Team

Please, help us add to this list.  Send us a note!

Great College Advice

The post Famous Graduates of Liberal Arts Colleges first appeared on Great College Advice.

This is another example of how the liberal arts are truly “liberating.”  This young man’s foray into history and the Classics have taught him a great deal about himself.  While it’s true that college students will someday emerge from the cocoon of college into the wide, wide world to make a living, the educational experience of the liberal arts can help students understand their world better, improve their ability to communicate with others, and sharpen one’s analytical skills in ways that are hard to quantify.

The good thing is that employers are looking for students like this one (who studies at Hope College in Michigan–which is a member of the Colleges That Change Lives consortium) who can elegantly argue a case in the court of public opinion.
Read the piece here.

Great College Advice
Educational Consultant and Admissions Expert

The post The liberal arts can be a liberating educational force first appeared on Great College Advice.

TRANSCRIPT:

I’m here on the campus of Lynn University. And I do find as I’m working with students around the world that many students are looking for a real international environment. And the first impulse is to think that the top schools in the United States have the most international environment. Well, as it turns out that’s not true. Harvard, Princeton, Yale, the Ivy Leagues, run about 15% international. Sometimes a little less than that, a little more, but around 15% international students.

An international school

Here at Lynn University in Boca Raton, Florida, it’s 25% international. And another 10% or so are American citizens who have never lived in this country. Who maybe carry an American passport but have lived in Colombia or in Venezuela all their lives. But end up coming to the United States to study. So it’s kind of interesting to get beyond the assumptions that certain universities are going to be the most international. When in fact a place like Lynn University, about 2,500 students here in Florida just north of Miami. Fantastically international place and a very hospitable environment for international students.

In fact, the two people that we had lunch with today, the associate director of admission and the director of admission. Both were from other countries. The director of admission is from Italy and the associate director was from the Czech Republic. So people not only come here from many places around the world but some of them actually choose to stay. So if you’re looking for an international place, think of Lynn.

The post Visiting Lynn University: A Global School first appeared on Great College Advice.

TRANSCRIPT:

Lewis & Clark College is a liberal arts college. It is not only a liberal arts-focused university that really is an undergraduate school. It does have a law school and there is a graduate school. But the primary focus of this institution is on undergraduate education. When I’m talking to students and thinking about curriculum in general and how to decide what kind of institution you want to go to, I actually push students to think about the curriculum requirements.

Curriculum Requirements

Freshman Year

So here at Lewis & Clark for example, they do have a general education requirement. The first thing is during the freshman year. Students take two semesters of a sequence to help students adapt to a college environment, this kind of university education. So the first semester is a class that everyone takes and everyone reads more or less the same books; those books may change from year to year.

And that is really an introduction to the university academic requirements, helping student get their writing up to speed. And students, they have a professor, only 19 kids or fewer in each class. The professor can really see whether the student is ready for all of the demands of the higher level curriculum. If not, they can get them into a tutoring center. And help with their writing, or the teacher can spend more time with that student.

Second Semester

The second semester is more of a choice. Students can choose lots of different topics of seminars, whether it’s in the humanities, social sciences, the sciences, and this is another writing-intensive course where students are going to be reading a lot, but every student has to do a major research project, independent research project, for that semester. So you can see by the time students finish their freshman year, they’re ready not only to do high-level coursework, but they’re able to do independent research and writing just by the end of that first year.

International Curriculum

The other requirements here at Lewis & Clark are at least two semesters of an international kind of curriculum. 50% of students study abroad. There’s also a scientific and quantitative reasoning requirement, so students have to take three semesters of that; one has to be a lab. And arts, creative arts, are required, fantastic facilities for visual arts, for theater, for music. Foreign languages, you have to take at least three semesters of a foreign language. So again, foreign study abroad, that could help meet that requirement.

And then there’s a year-long physical education requirement. And really, this is a perfect place to do it here in the Pacific Northwest near Portland, it’s actually in Portland. But you have right behind the camera you’ve got Mt. Hood, you’ve got the ocean behind me, you’ve got all kinds of possibilities for recreation as well as the more standard physical education requirements.

So that’s what the requirements are here at Lewis & Clark. It’s important, as you’re looking at each school, these requirements, yeah, there are some similarities, but there are major differences and you see here at Lewis & Clark there’s a big focus on international, foreign language, that’s a little bit more what Lewis & Clark is all about. So make sure, when you’re thinking about college you’re going to apply to, think about that general education requirement. It helps to define what the college is all about.

The post Lewis and Clark College: International Liberal Arts first appeared on Great College Advice.

Transcript:

I’m here on the campus of Lynn University in Boca Raton, Florida and behind me, you can see the Performing Arts Center. This is where one of the three presidential debates in 2012 between President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney was held. But it’s really the Performing Arts Center for a music conservatory here at Lynn. It’s a smaller program but it is highly renowned. It’s primarily international students, kids come from all over the world to study music here. And, bonus, it’s free.

So if you get in, you don’t pay tuition. And if you still need more money because you have a financial need. Then scholarships might be available to help pay for the cost of room and board. So if you’re looking for a music conservatory. There are not many better deals in the country than the Lynn University Conservatory.

The post Lynn University’s Free Music Conservatory first appeared on Great College Advice.

TRANSCRIPT:
So here today I’m on the campus of Rollins College, it’s in Winter Park, Florida, not too far from Orlando, big city. And it’s a beautiful campus, kind of Mediterranean style, and really nice buildings, architecturally harmonious, we might say. And the location is great because not only is it warm, although it’s January right now, it’s a little nippy, sunny and beautiful but a little nippy, and it’s got the best of both worlds: it’s a smallish town, Winter Park is an older town in Florida that’s been around for a long time, but then you’ve got Orlando with Disney and Universal and all the attractions of a big city. So it’s kind of a nice combination being in a more suburban or residential area of a very large city.

So a great place to come if you’re looking for the place where you can wear your flip flops every day and enjoy the Florida sunshine. The other thing that’s really beautiful about this campus is that they are on this lake, Lake Virginia, so you’ve got a big waterfront down here that is absolutely gorgeous. So there’s a reason why Princeton Review recently called this the number 1 most beautiful college campus in America.

The post Rollins College: A Beautiful Campus first appeared on Great College Advice.

What Is a “Liberal Arts” Education?

The “liberal” in “liberal arts” comes from the word “liberty.” Do not confuse this word with its political connotation. The idea of a liberal arts curriculum is to “free the mind” and unbind it from ignorance.

Liberal arts is the traditional higher education curriculum in the US. Nearly every university offers a “Bachelor of Arts” degree that requires a broad introduction to a variety of disciplines. Unlike in other countries, the “general education” requirements help ensure that Americans are not specialists. But rather have a wide acquaintance with many disciplines.

Liberal arts majors include the sciences: chemistry, biology, physics, and more. Again, don’t be fooled by the nomenclature. Liberal arts colleges often have outstanding science departments, and a few even offer engineering.

The College of Liberal Arts (or Arts & Sciences) is undergraduate unit of a university. In the United States, we talk about going to “college” after high school. Because college is the traditional undergraduate destination—whether or not that destination is part of a university. In fact, the first college established in the US remains a college: the College of William and Mary.

What Is a Liberal Arts College (LAC)?

Think of an LAC as a “college of arts and sciences” at a university that is removed from a broader institution. And then created as a stand-alone school. It has exactly the same sort of undergraduate curriculum that exists at a university. But the LAC is completely separated from graduate programs.

An LAC offers only undergraduate degrees. Most offer the BA, but some might offer other degrees, including a BS, BM, or even a BBA.
Because it is an entirely undergraduate institution, there are no graduate students in an LAC. Professors teach all classes, even discussion sections and laboratories, because there are no graduate programs at a LAC.

Because they are generally smaller, LACs also offer smaller class sizes than those generally found at larger universities. Thus it is often easier to make personal connections in the classroom, both with professors and peers.

The post Liberal Arts College | Liberal Arts Education first appeared on Great College Advice.

We learn everything about you so that we can understand what you are looking for in a college. Like tailors, we measure you up. We figure your preferences, your priorities, your personal style. We help you consider the environments that might suit you best–especially the classroom environment, for it is in the classroom, after all, where you get the greatest value from your education. We give you some questionnaires and surveys and personality assessments and aptitude tests. We help you be better able to articulate your strengths and weaknesses, your likes and dislikes, your hope and dreams, so that you can more systematically try on different colleges for size. We make the process efficient.

By the same token, we have to learn a lot about the colleges, so we can quickly and efficiently (and correctly) identify a short list of colleges that fit you. We spend a lot of time on the road investigating campuses, snooping around classrooms, talking to librarians, chatting up the faculty, and asking students about their experiences. We take the tours and listen to the information sessions so we can get a better idea of what sets each school apart, and to learn what they seek in their applicants. Sometimes we also call admissions offices or coaches or financial aid officers directly, to be sure that we understand the processes and procedures, and so that we can effectively share this information with our students and their families.

Your Personal Shopper for the Best College Fit

We get to know you.

We get to know the colleges.

So we can help you find the right fit.

In this sense, we are, indeed, personal shoppers. Just as you must try on jeans or sweatshirts or t-shirts, you have to try on different colleges to see how they look on you. Of course, choosing a college is a bit more complex. And it’s certainly a service that is much more costly than even the most expensive pair of designer shoes. But the same principles apply. You need to know what you want. You need to understand what is available. And you need to make choices that reflect your knowledge of yourself and the colleges.

How do you think these look on me? Do they fit?

Lewis & Clark	Wheaton College
Manhattan College	Stanford University
Emory University	Haverford College
Muhlenberg College	University of Delaware
Lehigh University	Lynn University
University of Central Florida	University of Miami
Eckerd College	Fordham University
Saving the best for last…. Macalester College

For the Best College Fit, Try It On!

You see, what looks good on the rack, may or may not look good on a particular person. What looks good on one individual may look awful on another.

You are picking the college for you. You need to think carefully about what you want or need. A little more room in the waist? Something that shows off your best features? Or how about something in aqua?

Seriously, it’s not easy to pick the right college. You need to think carefully about what criteria are important to you, and then you need to systematically search for those colleges that fit those criteria. It’s not an easy process, with over 3,000 colleges in the United States (that’s a lot of sweatshirts to try on).

So consider getting a “personal shopper” as you go through the process. The investment will be well worth it.

After all, you wouldn’t want to spend $250,000 for that little pink number, now would you?

Mark Montgomery
Great College Advice
720.279.7577

The post College Fit: How Does the Shirt Look on Me? first appeared on Great College Advice.