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Where should I go to college? I've gotten some acceptances; now I need to decide.?


Asked by elfman2009
I've gotten into Stanford, Williams, Middlebury, Reed, Haverford, Dickinson, and Oberlin. I'm not sure if I'd rather go to a liberal arts college or not. Give me any advice you can on how to go about deciding. I'm going to make to visits in April - one to a research institution and one to a small liberal arts college. I'm still waiting to hear back from Harvard, Yale, Brown, Swarthmore, and Hampshire.

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Answered by Blue
My recommendation is to go to a liberal arts college - they tend to be smaller, and often focus more on undergraduate education, while universities often focus more on their graduate students (sadly sometimes at the expense of their undergrads, and despite having many undergrads to foot the bill for the grad programs). You should think about the kind of experience you desire for your higher education and what you think will prepare you well for your career and/or further education. My personal bias is that liberal arts colleges prepare students to be flexible, critical thinkers, while universities tend to prepare students to have specific content knowledge. I know some (or perhaps many) people will disagree, but I feel liberal arts education provides training in how to think, rather than what to think. That being said, I recommend Haverford and Swat as well - both are excellent schools and will prepare you well for the future. I went to a liberal arts college close to these two, and they are both phenomenal.


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