Liberal arts colleges in the United States

Many people come into college feeling unprepared, nervous, and unconfident, and while being convinced that I was indeed prepared, I couldn’t help but feel some of these stressful emotions. Over the past month and a half, I have adapted to my new environment that is Pacific Lutheran University (PLU), and feel much more sure of myself as I continue through this semester. I have learned about what skills and mindsets can lead to a successful college experience, such as hope, grit, and resilience.…

What is a liberal arts education? William Cronon (to me) gave the best description of a liberal arts degree and what makes a student liberally educated. Cronon stated that “Freedom and Growth; are values when we speak of a liberal education” (5). I believe that to be liberally educated you must be able to grow on things you 've learned, branch out in a sense. It’s not about how you learn, it’s what you learn and how you use what you learn that makes you liberally educated. Many people ask why a…

Goals and Expectations for My Time At Castleton and Beyond Castleton is the perfect environment for me to exercise and apply the ideas expressed in Zakaria’s book, In Defense of a Liberal Education. After reading the assigned book this summer I found that I gained a new understanding of how schools are run, from elementary to higher education. Throughout my time in high school I experienced an ever growing curiosity as I was being exposed to new ideas by both my teachers and my peers, but not…

schools have an average tuition of $9,410 per year, while out of state tuitions can cost around $13,324. Private schools cost even more, $47,831 on average per semester, but do not change for in-state students versus out-of-state students. Belmont University, one of the premier liberal arts schools in the South and ranked #5 on Collegeboards.com, is a private institution which I am considering attending, and like most private colleges, its tuition falls in the lower median range at roughly…

Liberal Arts provides its students with the fundamental comprehension of various academic courses (not including professional topics) in a college. Before coming to the liberal arts college, Oxford College, I attended Patchogue Medford High School. At this high school, I was taught AP Chemistry by Mrs. Galligan. My first impressions of her were founded by her previous students who claimed that she was an incredibly difficult teacher, but later I found out that she was extremely passionate about…

Nugent, who has been the President of multiple liberal arts college as well as a long time educator. She elaborated on the positives of a liberal arts education through five paradoxical questions. These were her five questions: 1) What does liberal arts mean? 2) What is a liberal arts education? 3) Is a liberal arts education useful or useless? 4) What can you do with a liberal arts education? 5) Is a liberal arts education different from a liberal arts college? She used these questions to make…

disputes beginning with the article, “Are Colleges Worth The Price of Admission?” by Andrew Hacker and Claudia Dreifus. This article conveys a controversial issue of the rising cost of admissions and the descending quality of college education. With the questioning of the traditional educational system, many offer alternate solutions to combat these misperceptions such as the article written by Sanford J. Ungar, “The New Liberal Arts”. While liberal-art degrees rarely statistically illustrate…

“black” in a society where black’s have little to no rights. He travelled throughout the southern states for six weeks and encountered a plethora of discrimination, oppression, and social injustice during his journey. Arguably, Griffin’s passion for the black community came from his liberal arts education at the University of Poitiers. Like Griffin’s education, there are a variety of ways a liberal arts education can contribute to social justice, such as the entitlement to one’s own opinion, the…

David Foster Wallace postulates that the true value of an education lies in that education teaches an individual to think. He states that an education gives one the ability to consciously decide how they will perceive the world around them. Hendrix’s motto reflects similar values, and reads, “Unto the whole person.” In choosing this phrase as a reflection of the institution, Hendrix makes a commitment to cultivating graduates that are more than intelligent. In doing so, the institution…

College is a very difficult and stressful time of your life. You need to know that it will be worth it in the end. College is something you will should probably never do alone (Hauerwas). God is always there for you throughout your journey in college. In order to be a successful college student and follower of Jesus Christ you need to be a disciple of Christ, now your calling, and set your limits. To succeed in college, you need to be a disciple of Christ. According to Dallas Willard, “To be a…