Click here to go to the NEW College Discussion Forum

Hey, I am just a little confused about LACs. When I first started the college search months ago, I had heard of most doctoral universities, but all of the LACs were completely foreign to me. I was wondering if you guys think that an education from a top LAC would be helpful for job opportunities as a "big name" school like Vanderbilt? I looked on Claremont Mckenna's website, and it said that its freshman class is like 200 or something people! How in the world are people going to know about these schools if they are so small? Wouldn't it be just as helpful to go to a big name state U?

By Dke (Dke) on Saturday, October 02, 2004 - 11:13 am: Edit

The top LAC's take some of the finest students in the country...be sure to take a look at them....the grads from these small,select colleges take networking very seriously as evidenced by the large number of LAC grads at the major investment banks and law firms, not to mention other professions...

By Reidmc (Reidmc) on Saturday, October 02, 2004 - 12:44 pm: Edit

You should investigate LACs during your college search, though a case for a type of school or any individual school should be made based on a mix of factors. Name recognition among the general public would be just one factor, and it would be an important factor in only a small percentage of situations.

For example, if you do not plan on going to graduate or professional school and would like to settle in the southeast, you'd likely be better off with a Vanderbilt degree. A terminal Claremont-McKenna degree could be more useful if you plan on living in California. But even in these situations, other factors (career interests, financial aid, learning style) could tip your decision the other way.

By Hoo_29 (Hoo_29) on Saturday, October 02, 2004 - 04:06 pm: Edit

OK thanks. I am well aware that LACs are REALLY good schools, I was just a little worried about name recognition. I might apply to Furman now.

By Thedad (Thedad) on Saturday, October 02, 2004 - 04:10 pm: Edit

I think the education you receive at the top 20-30 LAC's can be as good as if not actually superior to that you would get a most universities. Figure that the students who turn down HYPSM et alia to attend AWS et alia might actually know something that you don't.

At universities--even the "best"--undergrad students are often cogs in larger machines. At an LAC, as one of them puts it, it's four years where it's all about you. Comparing faculty at LAC's and universities will not put the former at a disadvantage. It may also be thought provoking to look at the number of HYPSM faculty whose undergrad work was at LAC's. Also very interesting are the widespread anecdotal reports of HYPSM faculty sending their own offspring to LAC's for college. Just a few things to think about.

By Dke (Dke) on Saturday, October 02, 2004 - 05:28 pm: Edit

Also keep in mind that often at LACs the students are the offspring of extremely well connected people....invaluable for internships and getting your foot in the door for job interviews...may sound snobby but its often the case

By 3togo (3togo) on Monday, October 04, 2004 - 09:24 am: Edit

> OK thanks. I am well aware that LACs are REALLY good schools, I was just a little worried about name recognition. I might apply to Furman now.

That is great concern .. but the more specific concern is name recognition by whom. Will the admissions departments at grad schools know the top LACs? Absolutely! Will the recruiting folks at major industrial, consulting, and financial firms? Absolutley!

I think where it gets a little tougher are the smaller companies that tend to recruit locally. If someone wants to live local to where they grew up and are not set on going to big firms ... there might be some benefit to go to a LAC closer to home because the name recognition might be higher among those smaller local firms.

By Cangel (Cangel) on Monday, October 04, 2004 - 09:50 am: Edit

Hoo 29, to enlarge on what 3togo said - Furman, for example, will generally be well recognized among businesses large and small in the South, not so well recognized in California. Self-made businesspeople (who will often run small businesses) have not gone to college, and won't be familiar with LACs "outside their backyard", that is the guy with a chain of dry cleaners in Greenville will immediately know Furman, but may not know Rhodes - they all will know Clemson.

The other aspect of this to keep in mind is that name recognition probably means little after you get that first job - from then on, your performance at work will be more important. The quality of the education you get, and how much YOU get out of it, will, though, last you a lifetime - to me that is the best argument for going to a school where you will get the best teaching, and the most attention.

By Mini (Mini) on Monday, October 04, 2004 - 11:47 am: Edit

"That is great concern .. but the more specific concern is name recognition by whom. Will the admissions departments at grad schools know the top LACs?"

To answer your question:

Top Twenty Baccalaureate-Liberal Arts Insitutions by
Number of Doctorates Earned in ten-year increments

Institution Name 1991-2000 1981-1990 1971-1980
1 Oberlin College 1086 946 1120
2 Swarthmore College 755 532 599
3 Carleton College 752 538 559
4 Wesleyan University 695 473 415
5 St. Olaf College 591 400 376
6 Smith College 590 562 581
7 Wellesley College 570 573 615
8 Williams College 541 338 393
9 Reed College 495 401 411
10 Barnard College 476 571 716
11 Amherst College 460 334 499
12 Vassar College 456 446 443
13 Pomona College 455 438 560
14 Mount Holyoke College 444 442 403
15 Bryn Mawr College 440 318 359
16 Grinnell College 430 283 379
17 Bucknell University 422 430 431
18 Wheaton College 409 445 507
19 Haverford College 373 281 286
20 Colgate University 365 321 367

If you go to the Reed website, they list the top 10, weighted for student enrollment. You will quickly see that with the exception of Yale (and only in certain subjects), the Ivies almost never break the top 10.

Guess the admissions departments at the top grad school don't know who they are. (LOL!)

By Dke (Dke) on Monday, October 04, 2004 - 02:21 pm: Edit

Mini, do you think that's Wheaton in Ill. or Mass?

By Mini (Mini) on Monday, October 04, 2004 - 02:24 pm: Edit

Mass.