While a liberal arts college education is no longer universally valued, wise college applicants understand the long-term benefits of a classical education. You’ll tap into a proud history of advanced logic, writing and reasoning skills stemming from a time-honored curriculum shown to create great graduates, employees and citizens of the world.
Don’t write off a liberal arts education due to rumors you’ve heard about its cost, degree options or your future career prospects; instead, learn the truth about what this unique form of education can do for you.
What Degree Programs Do Liberal Arts Colleges Offer?
Liberal arts universities focus on a classical education in subjects like history, composition and mathematics. Rather than concentrating on professional degrees like nursing or business, a liberal arts school offers students a broad knowledge base that applicable across multiple career paths. If you’re passionate about both a traditional college experience and a professional degree in accounting, engineering or a similar subject, don’t despair. Many traditional universities are diversifying their curriculum and offering career-specific degrees with a rich general background. This allows students like you to earn a focused bachelor’s degree while benefiting from a strong introduction to the life of the mind.
Can I Afford to Attend a Liberal Arts College?
You may be surprised to learn that historic universities with small classes, in-depth attention from professors and ivy-covered buildings are within your budget. Many of these colleges are heavily supported by their alumni and have rich endowments, allowing them to offer scholarships, grants and other forms of funding to applicants. For example, out of all colleges that say they meet students’ entire financial needs, the majority are classified as national liberal arts colleges. While state schools and community colleges are facing shrinking public budgets and rising tuition costs, the private funds available to classic universities are protecting them from this economic turbulence. If you’re passionate about a well-rounded education, don’t let worry over finances dissuade you.
Do Liberal Arts Colleges Offer Online Classes?
Traditionally, liberal arts schools delivered a four-year education to students who lived on campus and enjoyed a rich academic life full of supplementary lectures, coffee shop meetings with professors and social opportunities with fellow scholars. Today, these colleges are recognizing the need for new methods of engaging undergraduates. This means they’re recording guest lectures and broadcasting them online, providing virtual office hours for professors and encouraging student interactions via web forums. Plus, small universities are forming consortiums with other schools to ensure students can access as many resources as possible, so you can take online courses at universities partnered with your alma mater.
What Can I Do After I Graduate with a Liberal Arts Degree?
Once you’ve completed your bachelor of arts degree, you will have the skills for any career you want. Even the United States military values liberal arts degrees because it understands the importance of critical thinking, skilled argumentation and interpersonal communications that come with graduation from a history, social science or philosophy program. You’ll also be more likely to be accepted into graduate schools with the classic academic training of a liberal arts curriculum.
Don’t listen to myths about a classical, humanities-based program of study. There’s a reason that studying at a liberal arts college has withstood the test of time.
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