Small Private Liberal Arts Colleges: A Strong Option
- Anne Johnson
- May 3, 2024
- 6 min read
If you follow me on Facebook - which you should :) Link here - you saw that last week, I was touring private colleges in Central Virginia through the Council of Independent Colleges in Virginia (non-profit organization linked below).
I was struck again and again during this tour about how small private liberal arts schools can be an untapped resource for students who need extra support or accommodations during college. I have listed my four reasons for considering a small private liberal arts school below, after briefly touching on how important education is after high school for students' outcomes throughout their lives.
Importance of post-secondary education
In this blog, I write about and talk with people about alternative paths and discuss that a four-year college is not the right choice for all students. However, I was reminded on these tours that furthering your education after high school is still the best way to change your future earnings and reduce your chances of unemployment. The chart below is from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, and it shows that unemployment decreases and weekly earnings increase the more education that you complete.
Private Schools are Increasing Transparency Around Cost
Small liberal arts schools, primarily private institutions that receive no state funding, are traditionally more expensive than a state school to attend. Often, schools in this category will set a tuition amount and then say that ALL students get scholarships to attend - just for applying! This increases applications and makes students (and parents) feel good because they are getting a scholarship. It is also a great marketing tool for the college - look how much money we are giving away!
Throughout this tour, I heard from multiple colleges that they know that operating in this way can drive families away from applying. Families see the sticker price and don't apply because they think there is no way we can afford this, not realizing the financial aid available to all students at the school.
Schools like Bridgewater College in Bridgewater, Virginia, announced to us on the tour that they were no longer going to be playing this game - instead, they were going to advertise the actual cost that it is for them to educate students at their institution - $15,000. This does not include room and board, but that amount for tuition and fees brings them much closer to the state schools around them. It also increases the likelihood that families that are interested in a small liberal arts education for their student who doesn't come from a well-off background will be more likely to apply.
Small private colleges are aware of the discussions taking place and are working to find ways to make their programs more affordable for families. Multiple colleges reiterated to us that they love talking with students and working with them to help find ways to finance their education. One school said they would even sit with students and help them fill out scholarship applications.
Innovative approaches to education
Randolph College
Small private liberal arts schools are better able to try innovative approaches to education. One college where this was clear was Randolph College, which implemented a Take 2 Classes structure. Students only take 2 classes at a time for 7 weeks and then repeat that cycle. The idea behind it is that students are able to dive more deeply into the academic material because they only have 2 classes to think about at a time.
They have better relationships with their professors because they are working with only two professors at once. The same applies to professors who can dig into their material and get to know their students. The other interesting part of this model is that all students have Wednesdays off every week - no classes. Instead, students use that day for internships, athletic contests, or club meetings.
Niche schools
Small private liberal arts schools are also typically able to have a more distinctive niche. They are more focused on serving a specific group of students. On my tour, I saw Sweet Briar College and Hampden-Sydney College, two single-sex colleges.
Hampden-Sydney College
Hampden-Sydney is one of only 3 all-male schools remaining in the country (bonus points if you know the other two - drop them in the comments below)—also, a fun fact: my brother went to one of the others. Hampden-Sydney is on 1300 acres in rural Virginia. They have a fully stocked fishing pond and lots of hiking trails (when we were there, we saw a group of young men with their camping backpacks on about to head off into the woods), and one staff member described it as a boy's camp.
It is the 10th oldest college, founded in 1775. 846 young men attend, and there is a 9:1 student-to-faculty ratio.
Sweet-Briar College
Sweet-Briar is also located on a large plot of land in rural Virginia. It is an all-female school with about 457 students attending. They are especially focused on developing leadership in women and have ten core classes that focus on leadership skills. They recently built a new greenhouse that supplies produce to their dining hall. Students also walk down the road to the art barn for all arts-related classes. We saw a kiln that a professor had built outside of the barn for firing pottery.
From a mental health point of view, they provide accommodations to all students who ask for them. This means that if a student suffers from anxiety or depression, the college will allow the student to take their final on their own and trust that the student will follow their honor code. The college also supports emotional support animals coming with students to campus. While we were touring, I saw a cat on a leash out for a walk around the quad.
Provides Options for Path Not Yet Known
At liberal arts schools, normally students do not have to declare a major until their sophomore year. Students can explore different classes and majors they might not have even known existed before college. They can talk with professors, get involved in classes, and see what sparks them before committing to one academic path. Liberal arts schools treat these first two years intentionally - they are thoughtful about what skills students need to build. At Hampden-Sydney, they focus on rhetoric, and at Sweet Briar, it is leadership, but all schools focus on the skills students need to hone to be successful in their careers afterward.
Small liberal arts colleges take preparing students for a career seriously - they provide intentional career planning for students from the beginning. They connect their majors to all of the different kinds of careers that one might be able to do. Grinnell College lists outcomes for its graduates including the job title, organization, graduate program, or service organization students are participating in or working at (link below).
Williams College has created a circle graph drawing lines between majors students have chosen at Williams and the career they ended up in.
Conclusion
Small private liberal arts schools often get a bad reputation in the media for being too expensive and out of touch. My experience touring these schools last week showed me that it is the opposite. Some of the schools might have a narrow focus on the students they are serving, but they are all working to prepare students for the jobs of the future while giving them the accommodations and support they need to be successful as they work to get there. I hope if your student is considering a four-year college path, they will take a look at some smaller private colleges as a part of their search.
I look forward to your conversations with your students, teens, and young adults. Let's make this journey joyful and transformative for them!
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Direct Links:
Bridgewater College: https://www.bridgewater.edu/
Council for Independent Colleges in Virginia: https://cicv.org/
Grinnell College Graduate Outcomes: https://www.grinnell.edu/after-grinnell/graduate-outcomes
Hampden-Sydney College: https://www.hsc.edu/
Randolph College: https://www.randolphcollege.edu/
Sweet Briar College: https://www.sbc.edu/
Williams College Visualizing Majors and Careers Wheel: https://www.williams.edu/admission-aid/after-williams/visualizing-majors-and-careers/
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