Is a liberal arts education worth it?

I've been thinking a lot lately about whether it's really worth it to have gone to a liberal arts school in terms of the monetary expense versus what you get out of it.

My small, liberal arts college was around $30,000 a year. I came out with a liberal arts degree (poli sci major), and I can't really say it's done much for me. I think the smart people are the ones who go to their state schools, pay low, in-state tuition, and study something "useful" like finance, accounting, speech pathology or nursing.....and come out with a bachelor's in that all set to enter an in-demand career and start at a good salary....a salary I haven't even come anywhere close to since I graduated college. Those are the smart people.

However, as a high school student, the "smart" kids all went to Ivy League colleges or small, liberal arts top colleges, and majored in a liberal arts degree. Today a lot of those people (people I read about in my college alumni magazine) are pursuing PhD's in history, English, etc. and when they come out they'll have to compete for super-hard-to-get professor jobs.

Yes, there were some special intangible benefits of the small-town, liberal arts college experience.....but are those really worth the cost, and to end up with a major that pretty much useless in trying to get a job (my school did not offer finance or business or nursing as majors--just the typical liberal arts subjects). Yes, I "learned how to learn" but a lot of that was accomplished on my own.

What do you think?

[PrincessFiona]

No. I think that in today's economy it is becoming less *worth it* to get an undergeraduate degree in pretty much any field unless you are sure that you are going to be going on to professional school.

I shudder to think of how things will be for my own kids.


kris

I went to both a small liberal arts college and state school (graduated from the state school) and received a liberal arts degree. It's been worth it for me. I think it depends on what you do with it.

[alison]

State schools for me for both college and grad school. I may not get the "super hard to get" position as a professor that you mention, but no education is a wasted education in my view.

[Malpka]

I agree with Kris. I don't think a simple undergrad degree is going nearly as far as it used to, and that it probably matters less where you obtain that degree than what you choose to do after earning that degree in terms of furthering your education or networking yourself into a good employment situation.

Anyhow, I went to a large state school (Florida State), DH went to a small liberal arts college (Rollins). I think we both had different but unique experiences that we both value. It would be hard to rank one higher than the other, I guess. Luckily, his expensive school was free (scholarship) and my state school was just cheap We both were able to get into the podt-grad programs of our choice.

Veggiefriend, many of the jobs you list require a Masters to really excel in the field. Speech Pathologists had to have a MA to practice independently (at least in FLA they did), many business majors need an MBA to have the big earning potential.

My college roommate majored in speech path and she couldn't get a job without a master's degree.

I think my degree opened doors for a wide range of graduate degrees, had I decided to pursue those. Despite doing well in college, I really don't enjoy school that much and didn't go to graduate school. When I graduated college, I wasn't ready to make a decision about a specific career path or graduate degree. I'm glad I didn't have to make a specific choice regarding profession at 19 or 20.

[Vishenka69]

It all depends on what you're looking for the undergrad school to provide you with. I went to a small private liberal arts college, loved every minute of it and wouldn't change anything given the chance. To me going to college is more than just getting a diploma in a practical field. It's an experience. I loved how close knit our undergrad community was, the small classes and friendly accessible professors and advisors. There's no way to get any of that in a large state school. Every job I've had since college (and many interviews) are solely due to the name of the school on my resume. At least in NY, certain school names come with expectations that other schools don't carry. Many employers don't care about specific majors as much as the individual's learning ability. Hundreds of my classmates ended up on Wall St, with majors in Art History, Poli Sci and Psychology among others. Others went to pursue higher education.

Veggiefriend, many of the jobs you list require a Masters to really excel in the field. Speech Pathologists had to have a MA to practice independently (at least in FLA they did), many business majors need an MBA to have the big earning potential.

True, but what I'm saying is for those who don't want to go to grad school, they're going to be a lot better off attending a state school (and thus having fewer student loans) plus having the opportunity to major in a useful subject (finance, accounting, nursing, etc.) so they can make a good salary straight out of undergrad. My SIL has a bachelor's in nursing, and is making a fabulous salary. Compare that to someone like me, who has been offered jobs (after law school) in the $30,000-$35,000 range.

Unlike many of the small, liberal arts college grads (like me) who had majors in useless sbujects--and basically have to go to grad school because otherwise they'll be severely underemployed plus have sky-high student loans.

Bascially what I'm saying is that I think going to a liberal arts college is overrated. Yes, for sure going to a college like the one Vishenka described is an "experience." But is it really worth it over more practical matters such as not having so much debt and having a useful major? I'm also not so sure about the whole name recognition thing. I went to an elite liberal arts college, and I can truly say that the "name" has done nothing for me. While there were some special things that I did/got out of college, I think I would have been better off going to my state school and majoring in something useful.

There are two separate questions here, the first: is a liberal arts eduction worth it - - to which I strongly feel the answer is yes (though I am not sure it needs to be 4 full years, I could see two years and then an option to begin more professionally-oriented training). I do think its helpful to have some breadth, to be be able to think across disciplines, and to have exposure to various areas of study before choosing a path.

The second question you are asking is: Is a 50k per year total cost for a private liberal arts college worth it? Often times not but the answer really depends on a variety of factors:
1. your child (do they have a personality that will enable them to attend a large state university with tens of thousands of peers and little personal attention - - this is no small thing, overwhelmed kids may choose to drop out from state schools or drift through with little guidance or mentoring)

2. your child's goals (for med and dental school, I am all for state education; for business, law and ph.d programs there are advantages and networks that accompany the most elite of the private colleges and universities)

3. the state school and private school in question: michigan and virginia I would pick over Harvard. Northern Illinois State, just as an example, much less clear. Similarly, there are very expensive, very small private schools that no one has heard of and that aren't well-connected - - not sure those are always worth it, but again see #1, depends on the child

4. the family's income and what else they would spend their money on. Is the family well off and going to spend that money on luxury cars instead - - not an uncommon choice. Personally, I will be goddamned if in my income bracket my kids don't have the choice of going to college wherever they want because I have instead poured money into a large home, fancy car, or other consumer goods.

[spotty_dog]

I think that these days, an undergraduate degree is like a high school diploma: essential education, and nobody *really* cares what you studied, as long as you got out with that piece of paper. A few pre-professional degrees are the exception, like engineering or business, and perhaps the ambitious student who is far-sighted enough to choose a career path at 19 or 20 would be better off spending the minimum amount of tuition to get that narrowly focused education and get out.

But I absolutely value the experience of having gone to college, and it's important to me that I received a well-rounded education with some breadth beyond the field of my major. The fact that mine was a small liberal arts college was part and parcel of getting exactly that experience. Having worked on the campuses of two larger universities, I shudder to think of what my coming-of-age experience would have been in that environment; and I don't see how I could have learned as well as I did either.

I got a bachelor of arts in physics, with almost literally one-on-one attention from my professors (a couple of my most advanced classes had only two students; also my classmates and I used to study near the department offices and drop in at any time for homework help from the instructor), but despite my science major I was required to take physical education, language, literature, and other "fluffy" subjects. I have classroom education in ancient Greek literature and psychology as well as in complex analysis and advanced quantum mechanics. I also participated in school-sponsored camping trips and partied with a huge hippie contingent.

I don't regret my liberal arts education for a moment, despite not "using" it (yet). As for job preparation, my brother doesn't have an undergrad degree and is making close to $50k. (But he needs the degree to move up and is working on it a little at a time.) My econ major friend works for a bank, a soc major is moving up in the ranks at an insrance company, a physics major is doing the same at a software company. They're in fine careers and not held back in any way by not having narrow job-specific training.

[Auspicious]

I'm having trouble wrapping my head around this one. I think it just all depends on who you are and what kind of environment you thrive in. It's worth it to do what's best for yourself.

All other things being equal, sure take the cheap school and the "useful" major, but all other things are never equal.

[DCJenn]

I went to a Very Small Liberal Arts College (1200 students) and I'll tell you, if you're defining success with income- Good Old Western Maryland College has extremely successful alumnae. If you're defining success as happiness with their careers- again, same thing. I was accepted at three large state schools, one medium sized liberal arts school and one tiny liberal arts school. I went with tiny and don't for a moment regret it. and yes, I "HAD" to get a Master's for "advancement" in my career but to be honest, at least 75% of my friends and acquaintaces have a master's degree in something. Big school, small school- it sort of is decided by what you want to do when you grow up- I can't imagine that where you went to undergrad matters.

Just ask my extremely successful rads/onc friend from college who, yes, was a bio major. One of 20 or so. (and FYI- there were 14 social work majors my year.)

[Meenah]

I think you could spend a million bucks and be miserable if you don't find what you really want. Everyone is different. I have a friend who has spent alot of money on numerous degrees and is happiest being unhappy. She blames her unhappiness on everyone else and continues to choose jobs that are miserable, I think just so she can have somethng to be miserable about. Education is all about what you choose to do with it, no matter how much it costs.

[MissCrabette]

As so many have already said, these days it feels like an undergrad degree is what a high school diploma used to be. I went to a very small liberal arts college and there's no doubt in my mind it was worth every penny. After all, that's where I met my fiance.

So it looks like you're comparing very job specific undergrad training to the liberal arts experience. It seems that you're already undecided about what you want to do in life. Imagine having to decide on a career the moment you stepped foot in one of those state universities. Would you have felt any better knowing that a decision was already made and you couldn't go back and train as something else?

By all means, if you know exactly what you want to be and you're anxious to go out and do it, then go to a state school and get the exact education needed for that job. But if you don't, and if you want to take your time discovering all that is available to you while growing as a person, the liberal arts education was right up your alley.

When I applied to college, I was planning on majoring in some sort of German studies. Yeah, imagine that. That quickly changed to poli sci as soon as I started going to class. My major? Economics. I'd never even considered it until taking my first Economics class, which I think was satisfying some requirement.

[houseelf]

I think that parents have to be very careful when weighing the benefits of a strong liberal arts education versus, oh how shall we say it, a financially prudent education.

My brother and I were told in no uncertain terms by our practical, uneducated, blue collar parents that we were *only* allowed to earn a practical degree with which we eventually could get a job. My parents specified engineering,accounting, law enforcement, and teaching, in that order. We could have "hobbies" and "other interests" on the side or as minors. According to their mentality, college was too big of a sacrifice to view it as one big self-improvement trip.

My brother enjoyed music theory and composition. Ever the prodigal son, however, he majored in electrical engineering and computer science. All is well that ends well, as he now is a vice president for Microsoft with a fabulous lifestyle.

I enjoyed economics and latin american literature. However, I obediently majored in accounting and went on to law school.

Actually, DH experienced this phenomenon as well. He earned a Mechanical Engineering degree which he loathed and ended up going onto medical school anyway.

I harbor strong mixed emotions about this now that I'm older and have been out in the work force. Each of us have very nice lives because of our parents' advice. As an ironic aside, I have found that the children from wealthier socioeconomic backgrounds were ushered toward more encompassing, liberally minded educations with the ultimate goal of graduate school. In other words, the exact opposite of what our parents told us.

Still, I can't begrudge my parents' directives. I owe less than half of what some of peers do. I do enjoy marketable skills.

Still, both DH, my brother and I have all experienced a slight academic inferiority complex from time to time with our State school educations.
I never have read Nietche, even though I keep telling myself that I will. (heck I can't even spell his name right... ). I can talk about economic theory for hours and think that I might have been happy as a scholar.

In truth, I haven't worked out yet what I will tell my kids. They must live with passion and with an eye towards exploration. Yet at the same time, the cost of college is oppressive and there must be some sort of cost-benefit analysis.

Long story short, I see all sides of this one.

Kelly+