For a wide range of students, small liberal arts colleges, or SLACs, can offer a post-secondary experience that not only equals but even exceeds the offerings at larger institutions. Whether a student has their sights set on Grub Street or Wall Street, academia or industry, medicine or law, a SLAC can help them chart a path to accomplishing their goals. Here are just a few reasons why liberal arts colleges deserve your consideration -- and might even change your life:

1. FOUNDATION

The curriculum is designed for students to explore broadly. Students complete work in three broad areas: Humanities, Social Sciences, and Natural Sciences. An extensive foundation allows students to make connections between disciplines while simultaneously diving in deeply into their chosen major(s). For students unsure of their major, the curriculum allows for inquiries to turn into discoveries. 

Students from SLACs don’t just master a subject; they learn how to learn. They can also pivot quickly, write well, problem-solve, think critically and creatively, and more. This type of fluid thinking is highly sought after by both graduate schools and employers. According to Erika Walker, an assistant dean at UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business, “Liberal arts majors…are the students who have the active minds, who are asking the big questions.” On post-college assessments of critical thinking, writing, and complex reasoning, these liberal arts students regularly outperform their peers from strictly pre-professional programs in business, health, or education. It is no accident that a disproportionate number of Fulbright scholars, U.S. Nobel laureates, and more got their start at liberal arts institutions. 

2. A PLACE TO FIGURE OUT WHAT SPARKS YOUR INTEREST

That said, you don’t need to be a future laureate to benefit from the academic offerings at a SLAC. Thanks to their combination of intellectual breadth and depth, SLACs can stimulate a wide range of students, whether they arrive on day one with their future career all charted out or are unsure which major to pursue. Students at larger institutions may be pressured to declare a prospective major when they apply, but SLAC students have the chance to delve into various fields of inquiry before committing to a single path. A liberal arts student can major in math but dabble in Old English poetry, enroll in intensive Arabic while building a background in global health, or chart an interdisciplinary course between neurobiology, computer science, and psychology. Small liberal arts colleges encourage diverse interests and grant students the freedom to experiment with different possibilities for their futures.

3. SMALL BUT MIGHTY

The small size of SLACs is their hidden superpower. Because the average class size at a liberal arts college is 18, students can engage in discussions and push their thinking to the next level. More importantly, the small student population at most liberal arts colleges means that students get to learn from faculty whose primary responsibility is teaching. Small class sizes make it easier to build relationships with professors. We know students who have joined their faculty’s family dinners or who continue those deep in-class discussions over coffee. Moreover, faculty continue to engage in research, which means that students interested in research can have an invested mentor and a chance to participate directly in intellectual inquiry. 

Liberal arts colleges are small by design, with an average student body of 2,500. A smaller student body facilitates not only forging strong connections with faculty, but also more interactions with peers. Students use the energy of these dynamic and engaged learning environments to build incredible relationships with one another.



As you build your college list, think deeply about the kind of community you want to be a part of and the skills and interests you aim to develop over the next four years. You may find that a small liberal arts college can offer you everything you could get from a large research university--and more.