Two cups of java sit down before you: one bearing the insignia of a pop, multinational brand and the other, an unknown local brew. Every bit a participant in a taste test, y'all are asked to sip both and so land which one is better. After sampling each coffee, in that location is no doubt that the lesser-known brand tastes significantly better, just when pressed to choose ane, yous, against your better judgment, find yourself blurting out the name brand.

Aplenty research in the marketing field has found that people will often side with brand over quality. This is, in part, because recognizable brands have a psychological power over consumers, providing a sense of security, social acceptance, and enhanced personal image that an "off-brand" product, even one of superior quality, cannot. This miracle extends across the realm of coffee and other consumables, as well impacting a decision as important (and expensive) as where yous elect to attend higher.

So much can be wrapped up in the idea of attending a well-known, prestigious university, a name-brand schoolhouse that the actual experience y'all are seeking becomes secondary to an impressive name on bumper sticker or sweatshirt. In the collegiate world, large-proper noun universities from the Ivies to the flagship land schools are akin to our name-brand coffees. Yet, lesser-known liberal arts colleges, our lesser-known coffee, offer several academic and extracurricular advantages that students at larger and more pre-professional person schools would be hard-pressed to find. They include…

one. Smaller class size

Liberal arts colleges tend to have, on average, smaller course sizes and generally place a greater emphasis on the undergraduate experience.  At universities, information technology is not uncommon for freshmen to find themselves taking in introductory classes in large, anonymous amphitheater. While this style of learning may exist preferable to some, those who bask class give-and-take and the opportunity to forge close relationships with your boyfriend classmates and professors may prefer the classroom experience at a liberal arts higher.

Uber-selective liberal arts institutions such as Vassar, Williams, Pomona, Claremont McKenna, Wesleyan, and Swarthmore all avowal student to kinesthesia ratios of 7:1 or 8:one. For those with less-than-perfect credentials, at that place are other schools with phenomenal student-to-faculty ratios including Hollins, Skidmore, and St. John's (MD),

For comparison, larger universities typically take essentially college ratios. West Virginia University, the University of Nebraska, and the University of Florida all have a 17:one or 18:1 ratio. The University of Central Florida, the University of Texas at Arlington, and San Jose State all have ratios between 24:i and 30:1, three times larger than many of the aforementioned liberal arts colleges.

ii. Unique experiences

It'southward not just about the sheer size of the student body. Students at liberal arts colleges have access to sure extracurricular activities that would otherwise be unavailable to them at large universities, such as joining a varsity sport or assisting their favorite professor in a inquiry projection.  At a liberal arts college, y'all practise not take to compete with a PhD student or NFL prospect to represent your college and reap the personal and social benefits that come up from deep involvement in an extracurricular action.

Opportunities for undergraduate research may be few and far betwixt at a land academy just at a school similar the College of Wooster in Ohio, every single undergraduate receives the run a risk to work ane-on-one with a faculty member engaged in some type of original inquiry. Davidson Higher offers an infrequent number of grants for undergraduate research both during the schoolhouse year and over the summer. Grinnell offers credited research opportunities and sees an exceptional number of undergraduates co-author papers with their professors.

3. Favorable post-graduation outcomes

Equally we've demonstrated, liberal arts colleges undoubtedly offer a diverseness of benefits to students during their undergraduate years. But maybe you're not as concerned about what liberal arts schools do for students during college as you are with what these institutions do for students later they have graduated. What about job prospects and prospects for admission into graduate schoolhouse? Well, the post-obit are but a few facts confirming that liberal arts schools practise indeed prepare their students for life after college:

  • Liberal arts colleges constitute 9 of the x postsecondary institutions that graduate the highest per centum of eventual PhDs.
  • Nearly ane-third of Fortune 1000 CEOs concur liberal arts degrees.
  • A survey of CEOs institute that 74% believe that a liberal arts education leads to a more dynamic workforce.
  • By mid-career, liberal arts majors earn more, on average, than graduates of pre-professional person programs.
  • The list of liberal arts schools that saw graduates accepted to Harvard Police School'due south 2020-21 1Ls includes: Amherst College, Connecticut College, Hamilton College, Hendrix College, St. Olaf College and Vassar.

The in a higher place facts should lead you lot to the conclusion that your futurity graduate school ventures, task opportunities, and compensation will only exist enhanced by attending a liberal arts schoolhouse.

four. Generous financial assist packages

This level of bookish intimacy may sound great, but, admittedly, information technology also sounds expensive. 1 gander at the sticker price of many liberal arts colleges volition only confirm this suspicion.  However, wise college consumers know that the list toll isn't necessarily what you lot will pay.

Many of the nation's top liberal arts schools are able to offer a world-course education and a price well below the book-toll tuition effigy. In fact, students at premier schools such equally Pomona and Haverford College typically pay between one-third and half of the stated price tag. Due to exceptionally large endowments, many of these institutions are willing and able to meet students' level of financial demand. Further, the great majority of schools that are less-selective than the likes of Pomona and Haverford likewise offer generous merit aid packages designed to lure desirable applicants into their fold.

The answer to the question: Should I go to a liberal arts college?

It's all too like shooting fish in a barrel to focus solely on "brand name" schools when embarking upon your higher search. You lot've seen their football and basketball games on TV, barbarous in love with their iconic colors, and fantasize virtually seeing everyone'south face up light up with impressed recognition every bit yous announce your plans for next twelvemonth. Just as with drinking a cup of joe from a popular java firm, the magnetic draw of the familiar is embedded deep within our psyche. However, if you are the kind of student who desires a close-knit, intimate learning surroundings, and a adventure to participate in all aspects of campus life, a far more delicious mash awaits on the campus of a liberal arts higher.