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Comparing universities vs liberal arts colleges

Here are some key differences between universities and liberal arts colleges. Universities offer undergraduate and graduate programs, have broader curriculums, and often have larger class sizes. Liberal arts colleges focus on undergraduate degrees, have more specialized curriculums, and usually feature smaller, discussion-based classes. Both types of institutions provide valuable learning experiences and respected degrees.

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  • aqualine ultimate style avatar for user Dnn Kobo-Abe
    I grasped that its better study in Liberal arts than Universities if youre studying social sciences.
    (7 votes)
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  • male robot johnny style avatar for user Tushar
    So while this is not exactly the main idea of the video, Mr. Logan did mention something about my question...which is, what exactly are graduate schools and what are their merits? Also, what kinds of majors/careers are these schools limited to (in the video, business is mentioned), if they are limited at all? And finally, in addition to finishing a normal 4-year college degree, how much extra time, and money, must be spent in order to achieve a degree from these graduate schools, and is this proportional to the benefits one could stand to gain?
    Thanks in advance.
    (4 votes)
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    • leaf red style avatar for user grahambgriffin
      Graduate schools are colleges that offer degrees that you would pursue after getting your undergraduate degree/bachelor's (typical 4-year degree). Many universities have both undergrad and grad schools; liberal arts schools only have undergrad though. The two most common graduate degrees are master's (~ 1-2 years) and a doctorate/PhD (4+ years). Master's degrees generally just show that you have more advanced education than average and boost you value in the job market (I hear they are best in business and teaching). Graduate degrees are essential in their respective fields (law, medicine, natural sciences, etc.) to the point that you won't get a job as a lawyer/doctor/scientist without a degree.
      On paper, both grad and undergrad school are about the same in terms of cost and both should offer financial aid, though the process and available scholarships/assistance programs vary greatly. However, in the US at least, graduate degrees have a value that is proportionally greater than an undergrad for the sheer reason that grad degrees open up many careers that you would not even be considered for with just an undergrad vs having an undergrad will help you get a job but it is possible for people without a degree to get a similar job. I hope this helped and feel free to ask if you need me to try and clarify anything.
      (7 votes)
  • aqualine ultimate style avatar for user Flanny
    Where does the 'arts' bit in liberal arts colleges come from? The video suggests that you can learn much more than just the arts at such colleges.
    (5 votes)
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    • male robot hal style avatar for user Nicholas Wiewiora
      Well, I found this when I typed in "arts:define.": subjects of study primarily concerned with the processes and products of human creativity and social life, such as languages, literature, and history (as contrasted with scientific or technical subjects).

      I found this when I typed in "liberal arts:define.": academic subjects such as literature, philosophy, mathematics, and social and physical sciences as distinct from professional and technical subjects.

      I don't know if this helps. I'm debating if this fully answers your question. I found it intriguing.
      (3 votes)
  • leafers tree style avatar for user Suzannah Hitchcock
    At he mentions pre-professional degree. What does pre-professional mean?
    (4 votes)
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  • male robot johnny style avatar for user Tushar
    Are liberal arts schools private...or is it like universities where they can be either public or private? I ask this because it would seem like, to an relatively uninformed outsider like myself, liberal arts schools would be generally private because of their small class sizes, which would inevitably lead to a higher selectivity...or are small class sizes not reliable indicators of the public versus private nature of a higher education institution?
    (4 votes)
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    • leaf red style avatar for user grahambgriffin
      I have no proof off the top of my head but it's safe to say that the majority of liberal arts schools are private. There are plenty that aren't (the service academies are the most famous in the US). However, liberal arts schools are not inherently more selective due to smaller classes; they may have many professors or don't receive many applications. Smaller class sizes aren't indicative of whether a school is public or private (most schools announce both their class sizes and whether they are public or private so it's not a non-issue).
      (4 votes)
  • leaf red style avatar for user Shaunina
    I just need a little clarification. If I know that I want to study nursing, I could go to either a university or a liberal arts college, correct?

    Now, if my career requires a Bachelor of Science in Nursing, would that be more attainable (and less expensive) at a university?

    And, step further, if I need to get a Master of Science in Nursing...should I look at liberal arts colleges?
    (3 votes)
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    • spunky sam blue style avatar for user CZ
      A university is a set of colleges. So I assume you mean here to say should I go to a smaller school over a bigger one. Nursing is offered at many different institutions.

      Personally, I would recommend the best combination of cheapest and convenience you can afford (save time when you can afford to). I am not a nurse, but from what I hear about nurses (and what I know from other jobs) is you always start on the bottom. Your first job you probably will be given the least glamours tasks (cleaning up vomit, pulling the plug on patients). That is what I have heard from nurses. You work your way up from there. In nursing the level of education is actually important, however, you don't necessarily need to go for Ph.D. right away, you can take night classes and work on the levels as you go (which is very common).

      My personal advice on picking schools is that you should pick a relatively cheap one, unless you have a very specific focus and goal in mind (like you want to be a curator at the Smithsonian or something). Accreditation assures you that you will get a similar experience at many different schools. The cheapest route (but you have to know what you are doing) is to get a AS in Nursing at a community college, transfer to a cheap state school and do a BS in Nursing (carrying the credits) and depending on your financial situation maybe an MS...however you may want some work experience with a BS as going higher usually requires specialization. So you will want to know what field to pursue with an MS. So you might take two to three years to survey what medical specialty (surgical, gastro, renal, etc) and service venue (office, clinic, hospital) you really want to be in. You may hate nursing after three years, in which case you may opt (as a friend's wife did) to go into medical administration (she got an MBA and now is a hospital administrator). Hopefully that gives you some ideas on how it works. Best advice, find a few nurses and talk to them about their experience. That will be more valuable than anything you can find on here.
      (5 votes)
  • mr pink green style avatar for user Yaw Atuahene
    What does it mean to be a Division 1 or 3 school?
    (2 votes)
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    • female robot amelia style avatar for user Johanna
      David Alexander gives a wonderful answer about “divisions” in colleges’ research. There’s also a division I-III referring to sports. Division I schools. Division I schools invest more in their athletic programs, and Division III schools don’t emphasize that as much. Division III schools also can’t give scholarships for athletic ability.
      (4 votes)
  • duskpin ultimate style avatar for user Caroline Slater
    In graduate school, do you have ANY classes that aren't what you're furthering your education in? For example, if I got a masters in Computer Science, would I have any English classes at all?
    (3 votes)
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  • primosaur ultimate style avatar for user gabriel.j.skariah
    What are some good liberal arts colleges located in the USA? Do the arts colleges provide plenty of opportunities for students?
    (3 votes)
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  • blobby green style avatar for user Varlamov Grigory
    Confused by what is grad and undergrad in this video
    (3 votes)
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Video transcript

- [Voiceover] We're here today with Sean Logan, Director of College Counseling at Phillips Academy. Sean, can you tell students a little bit more about the difference between a universtiy versus a liberal arts college. - [Voiceover] Sure, I get this question a lot from my students. I think the quick answer to this and the simple answer is that a university while it also has a four-year undergraduate program, and a Bachelor of Arts, or Bachelor of Science program, it also has graduate schools attached to it. Things like business, and law, medical schools and so forth. Schools like Ohio State, or University of Michigan, Stanford University and so forth are universities that have both the undergraduate and all the graduate programs. Liberal arts colleges, on the other hand, tend to be smaller schools, and only focusing on undergraduate degrees, so that four-year undergraduate degree. I used to work at Occidental College in Los Angeles, and Williams College in Massachusetts. Both of those schools were undergraduate schools with about 2,000 students, and all of their focus being on the students who were there. Again, the degree you get is a four-year degree, but they didn't have any graduate programs. That's the simple answer, but there are more differences between them. That doesn't actually hold true for every school, but in general that works. At a university, for instance, they tend top have very broad curriculum. For instance, within say a biology department, there may be four or five different biology majors within that biology department. Whereas, at a liberal arts institution, it typically might be biology, and biochem, and that's it. The curriculum is more specialized, a little bit more focused say in a liberal arts school, not quite as many options. In a university, you can also get pre-professional degrees, so things like architecture, engineering, and so forth are opportunities that universities give you. Whereas, liberal arts schools, again, focus in the liberal arts. They will say that their strengths are that they teach critical thinking, and critical writing skills, basically lifetime learning skills. Coming at it from a liberal arts degree, again, those schools typically feel like they prepare you for about anything in the world as it is now constituted. Other sorts of things. Universities. They're tend to gonna have a lot of research money coming into them. Students could get undergraduate research opportunities there in the sciences, the humanities, the social sciences. Liberal arts schools certainly have that opportunity as well, but probably not quite to the same extent. But not always. There are some liberal arts schools that have phenomenal research opportunities so you need to look closely. Universities also tend to have, again, within their curriculum, their style of teaching, especially in the first two years, tends to be larger class sizes maybe two to four hundred students in a lecture hall in a discussion kind of section with teaching assistants doing sort of the smaller discussions. Whereas, again, liberal arts colleges tend to be, again, maybe 18 to 20 students in a class. They're gonna have very discussion-based courses, and styles of learning. It's a bit to what the student feels like is their best learning opportunity. Liberal art schools and universities are both gonna have a pretty wide array of opportunities both extracurricularly in terms of theater, music, arts, athletics, those sorts of things. But, universities tend to have Division I sports. Small liberal art schools tend to be sort of a Division III type program. There's a lot of differences there. Both are really well-respected degrees. One is not considered stronger than another. - [Voiceover] Great! Sean, thank you so much.