What is a Liberal Arts College?
Are you currently choosing a college, and aren’t sure which type of secondary education facility is right for you? The following are types of colleges and brief descriptions of the advantages and disadvantages of each type of college.
Private or Public College – What’s the Difference?
Private colleges are usually smaller than universities or public colleges. They are funded through private endowments and alumni and rely heavily on tuition, which is why they are also usually more expensive to attend than public colleges or universities.
Public colleges are funded by the state and federal government. They offer discounted tuition to in-state students and are usually less expensive to attend than private colleges.
What is a Liberal Arts College?
A liberal arts college is a school that offers four-year degrees that are based on general liberal arts educations. These degrees are broad in breadth and are humanities based or science based, which means they are degrees that cover subjects like Art, Literature, English, Sociology, Political Science, Philosophy, History, Anthropology, Linguistics, Mathematics, etc.
Many students who graduate with a liberal arts degree will then take on a graduate program in a specific area or go to a professional school. Liberal arts degrees are perfect foundations for medical school, law school, business school or theology.
Most liberal arts colleges are private colleges. They are known for providing a solid foundational education that offers flexibility for advanced study or careers.
What’s the Difference Between a College and a University?
Universities are bigger than colleges, and they usually consist of three segments: undergraduate programs that provide four-year degrees, advanced-degree programs that offer graduate degree programs, and specialized professional schools for specific professions.
Four-Year or Two-Year College?
Two-year colleges only offer associate’s degrees and certificates, where are four-year colleges offer programs that support bachelor’s degrees. Community colleges, vocational schools and technical schools are all two-year colleges.
What is a Community College?
Community colleges are two-year institutions that offer specialized training and associate’s degree programs. They are less expensive than four-year colleges and universities, and they usually offer core classes. They are great options for students who want to get core classes out of the way at a lower cost (and usually with less stress) before finishing a four-year degree at a college or university.
What is a Vocational (or Technical) School?
Vocational and technical schools are like community colleges, but they are very focused. They provide two-year degrees or certificates for specific niche careers.
Why Choose a Liberal Arts College?
Hopefully this primer helped you in the process of choosing a college to attend. If you aren’t sure what you want to do when you graduate from college, a liberal arts college or a university is probably your best bet since you can do a lot with a flexible liberal arts degree. You may wish to check out the US Bureau of Labor Statistics reports on how an education affects your employment rate and your potential salary level. Having this solid foundational degree will open doors to a variety of career options and will prove handy if you decide to switch careers later on in life.
