I came back from the IECA conference in Baltimore last week with a head full of new thinking about a whole category of schools I think most moms are quietly writing off.
Liberal arts colleges.
The day after the conference, our group toured Dickinson in the morning and Gettysburg in the afternoon. I went on the tour day as a 15-year veteran of this work. I have walked probably 80 college campuses in my career.
And I came home thinking: I need to talk about this on the podcast, because I think a lot of moms in my circle are missing something.
I just dropped the full episode on this. Hit play below, or scroll for the written version. Or both.
First, What IS a Liberal Arts College?
Quick definition. A liberal arts college is:
- Small, usually 1,500 to 3,500 students
- Focused on undergraduates (no big PhD-driven research priority)
- Broad in curriculum (humanities, sciences, social sciences, often business and engineering)
- Taught by professors, not adjuncts or grad students
The person at the front of the room is also the person who knows your kid by name by week three.
Now the myths.
Myth 1: Liberal Arts = English Major
This is the most common one. And it is so wrong.
Most liberal arts colleges today offer strong STEM programs, pre-med tracks, business and finance programs, computer science, neuroscience, and even engineering (often through 3+2 partnerships with bigger universities).
Dickinson’s Burgess Institute is their business and finance hub. Bloomberg Finance Lab on campus. Cohort model with alumni mentorship. Site visits to Wall Street, Corning, Utz. Career advisors specifically focused on finance and business.
Gettysburg’s X-SIG is their cross-disciplinary STEM research institute. Hands-on, collaborative research. STEM Scholars first-generation program.
Pre-med and pre-law numbers at Dickinson:
- 96% admit rate to law school
- 92% admit rate to graduate health professions programs (med, dental, vet, PA combined)
Bonus fact: Dickinson has a 3+3 JD program with Penn State Dickinson Law that lets students complete a JD a year early. The senior year of undergrad becomes the first year of law school, so the total path is six years instead of seven.
Your STEM kid, your pre-med kid, your future investment banker, your future law school applicant. All of them can thrive at a liberal arts college.
Myth 2: They're Too Expensive
Sticker prices ARE scary. Dickinson is around $90,000 full pay. Gettysburg is in a similar range.
But sticker price is not what most families actually pay.
Dickinson:
- Meets 100% of demonstrated need
- Large merit aid packages
- No application fee
- Will do a financial aid pre-read for early decision
For most families, the actual net price at Dickinson, after merit aid and need-based aid, is often significantly lower than at a public flagship out of state.
The question to ask is NOT “what is the sticker?” The question is: “What is the actual net price at this school for our family?”
Run the net price calculator on the school’s website. It takes 10 minutes. Run it before you write off any school for cost.
Myth 3: No Grad School Means No Opportunities
This is backwards.
At a big research university, the people running the labs and getting the professor’s attention are GRADUATE students. Your undergrad freshman is way down the priority list at most R1s.
At a liberal arts college with no grad school, your undergrad kid IS the workhorse. The research. The publications. The professor’s attention.
The Dickinson numbers:
- Every senior writes a thesis or capstone.
- More than 90% complete an internship, research project, externship, service learning, or field experience before graduating.
Gettysburg’s Eisenhower Institute runs leadership and policy research, named for President Eisenhower (who bought a farm and retired in Gettysburg after his presidency). Undergrads do real policy research.
“No grad school” does not mean “no opportunities.” It means “your kid IS the opportunity.”
Myth 4: Small School Means Limited Social Options
Define “real college experience.”
Gettysburg:
- 24 varsity D3 sports
- Greek life presence (about a third of students), no rush until sophomore standing
- The Bullets Marching Band, 100+ year tradition, one of the few marching bands in Division III
- More than 140 student clubs and organizations
- First-year walk retracing Lincoln’s steps to deliver the Gettysburg Address, with the whole town lining the streets
- Average class size of 17, 9 to 1 student to faculty ratio
Dickinson:
- 25 varsity D3 sports
- Four-year residency requirement (all students live on campus all four years)
- 80-acre USDA-certified organic farm on campus, supplying organic produce to the dining halls year-round
- Average class size of 17
- Bologna, Italy study abroad program (running since 1965)
Small does not mean limited. It means concentrated.
A kid who would be face down in their phone in a 500-person lecture is going to be sitting in a 15-person seminar where the professor is looking at them directly. They cannot hide. They have to show up.
That is not a downgrade. For a lot of kids, that is the upgrade.
Two Things I Noticed Walking These Campuses
One. The first-year seminar = your advisor. At both schools, every freshman picks a first-year seminar. The professor of that seminar becomes their academic advisor until they declare a major. The first relationship on campus is with a professor who is required to know your kid.
Two. Town integration. Both schools are deeply woven into their towns. Your kid learns to be a citizen, not just a student.
Who LACs Are Right For (and Who They're Not)
Right for:
- Kids who learn in conversation
- Kids who want to be known by their professors
- Kids who want flexibility to change majors
- Kids heading to grad school
- Kids who want strong, personal career services attention
Not right for:
- Kids whose dream specifically requires big-state-football culture
- Kids who want to be anonymous
- Kids who will not engage in small classroom discussion
Be honest about which kid you are raising.
Ten Questions to Ask on a Visit
- What is the AVERAGE class size, not the smallest?
- How is the first-year seminar structured? Does the seminar professor become my kid’s advisor?
- What percentage of students do research before they graduate?
- What is the internship placement rate?
- What is the ratio of students to career advisors?
- What is your grad school placement, by category?
- What is the alumni network like in [your kid’s field of interest]?
- What is the net price for our family at this school?
- Do you have honors programs, 3+2 engineering partnerships, 3+3 JD programs, or other dual-degree options?
- What does the relationship between the school and the town look like?
Use my free College Visitor’s Guides to capture the answers on the visit.
A Regional List of Liberal Arts Colleges to Consider
Northeast: Hamilton, Williams, Amherst, Vassar, Skidmore, Gettysburg, Dickinson
Mid-Atlantic: Washington and Lee, Bucknell, Lafayette, Muhlenberg, Franklin and Marshall
Southeast: Davidson, Furman, Sewanee, Wofford, Rhodes
Midwest: Carleton, Macalester, Grinnell, Kenyon, Denison, Oberlin, Beloit
West: Pomona, Claremont McKenna, Whitman, Reed, Occidental
Pick one that is drivable this summer. Visit it. Use the Visitor’s Guides. See for yourself.
You may walk away saying “not for us.” Honor that.
You may walk away saying “wait, my kid would actually thrive here.” That is the moment the whole conversation changes.
If you are a rising senior mom and the personal statement is the thing keeping you up at night, my Personal Statement Huddle is open and the first cohort kicks off Sunday May 31. Four students per cohort. Four weeks on Zoom. One finished personal statement by the end of June. Cart closes Sunday night.
→ Enroll in the Personal Statement Huddle
Already in my Dream Team or Parent Collective? You are covered. The Huddle is for moms not in either of those rooms yet.
Walk one campus that surprises you this summer. That is the assignment.
