With more and more people studying abroad and getting younger, there is a school called "College of Arts and Sciences" in the American higher education system, which has also attracted more and more parents' attention. From the beginning, the understanding of the College of Arts and Sciences only stayed in the schools attended by Song Ziwen sisters, Bing Xin, Hillary, Jobs and other celebrities. Now I hope to really understand the characteristics of such schools and what kind of children are suitable for studying, which has become a topic of concern to everyone.

Today, let's discuss whether we should go to an American college of arts and sciences.

First of all, let's take a look at what a college of arts and sciences is. Wikipedia's definition of such schools has three important elements:

No.65438 +0 emphasizes undergraduate education; Most colleges of science only offer bachelor's degrees, and almost all undergraduate courses are taught directly by professors in small classes; There are also a few liberal arts colleges that offer master's degrees or even doctoral degrees, but they are often the strongest subjects in this school, such as mathematics at Wesleyan University and biochemistry at Lemor College. Generally speaking, paying attention to elite undergraduate education is a major feature of liberal arts colleges, so most schools are named after colleges. Some parts of the United States, such as Massachusetts, have stricter regulations, and only universities that offer graduate degrees can be named after universities.

No.2 emphasizes that general education is greater than specialty-oriented education; Although many American comprehensive universities also provide general education in freshmen and sophomores, and encourage students to explore different subjects as much as possible before deciding their major direction, it is possible for students in liberal arts colleges to immerse themselves in the ocean of liberal arts education throughout their undergraduate course and choose specific major direction only at the graduate stage.

NO.3 Most science colleges award Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) or Bachelor of Science (B.S.), and only a few schools can award Bachelor of Engineering (B.S.E.). Some schools with prominent majors, such as business in Li Daxue and architecture and engineering in Cooper College, can provide students with a degree with strong career orientation. Most other liberal arts colleges will not have independent business schools and engineering schools. Of course, there are also many schools and comprehensive universities offering 2+2 or 2+3 programs, such as 3+2 engineering majors at Pomona College and California Institute of Technology, and 3+2 graduate programs at Manhattan College and Dartmouth College.

Secondly, let's see what's the difference between a liberal arts college and a comprehensive university:

Generally speaking, top small private comprehensive universities such as Yale, Dartmouth and Rice University have many similarities with the College of Arts and Sciences. Today, we compare them with relatively large comprehensive universities such as the University of California at Berkeley and the University of Los Angeles. Comparison between University of Michigan at ann arbor or famous private colleges and liberal arts colleges such as new york University, Boston University and University of Southern California.

Master Beit studied mathematics and philosophy at St. Olaf College, and now he is going to start working in Boston after graduation. Mathematics is one of the strongest majors in this school. After graduation, the proportion of doctor's degree is the highest in the United States, and his love for philosophy has been with him all the way since high school, which has always kept him from a unique perspective in logical thinking and seeing problems.

He thinks that the greatest advantage of the college of arts and sciences is that the professors are very serious. In fact, in the specific curriculum arrangement of the same major, the colleges of arts and sciences and comprehensive universities are similar, but the degree of professors' investment may be very different. In order to facilitate everyone's understanding, Toshiko made a horizontal comparison between two domestic high schools and high schools:

"The values of the College of Arts and Sciences are student-oriented, so students' feedback has an extremely important impact on the academic value of professors and even the selection of professional titles. In a sense, students can be said to be the food and clothing parents of professors. Especially those young people who have just graduated from Ph.D. and intend to aim at lifelong university professors. In addition to some introductory courses, the number of core courses in the College of Arts and Sciences is controlled below 20. When I was studying in LAC, I often discussed problems directly with professors, which is difficult for many comprehensive universities to do. The reason is simple: there are too many students in the class, and the professor mainly explains the core ideas.

For many comprehensive universities, research may be far more important than teaching. As long as the professor is strong enough in scientific research and can pull projects, it may greatly make up for the lack of teaching. Let me give you two examples. The first one was told by a senior in a comprehensive university. An old professor once said to a young professor, "The last thing you do before going to bed one day is to prepare lessons." Although the words are a bit extreme, the truth is self-evident. In fact, for practical reasons, professors in many large comprehensive universities are only responsible for lectures, and after-school homework and test papers are completed by teaching assistants. The second example is my personal experience. I later went to a comprehensive university to study as a graduate student. A professor is 65,438+00 minutes late for each class and 65,438+00 minutes early. The whole class process is to read the textbook word for word, but this does not affect his unshakable position in the department.

At present, there are usually 30 to 50 students in a class in public high schools and most private high schools in China, so objectively speaking, each teacher's investment in students is relatively limited. So to some extent, the feeling of high school education in China is similar to that of American comprehensive universities.

Although some schoolmates may ask, what if the professor is serious? If we work hard enough, we can also find ways to gain knowledge of relying on teachers in class. But I think being close to the professor is a very valuable asset in life. Personally, I think teachers are not only imparting skills and knowledge, but also conveying their own understanding and way of thinking about the world. During my years in LAC, the professors I contacted ranged from thirty to eighty. Young people are trying to learn to communicate with students, while older people have long regarded students as a part of their lives. This is a unique cultural phenomenon of western civilization, which is in the same strain as the educational essence of ancient Greece, and it is also the greatest significance of my study in the College of Arts and Sciences. "

Toshihiko also made an objective evaluation on the disadvantages of the College of Arts and Sciences:

"Most science schools are located in very remote mountainous areas. The college of arts and sciences pays attention to the cultivation of abstract thinking far from utilitarianism. Encourage non-utilitarian thinking and activities. For four years, I participated in the volunteer activities organized by the school Christianity every spring break: volunteering in various cities and villages in North America, helping communities clean streets, paint floors, build toilets, pull radishes, farm land, fertilize, be carpenters, repair houses, clean stables, and deliver food to homeless people for free. Although many students are happy, there are also many students in China who are miserable. Most of them come from developed cities in China, with well-off families and high quality of life. At this time, volunteers, philosophies or ways of thinking that can't be directly translated into real checks have become illusory clouds in the sky and can't feel the actual effect.

In addition, because the school is too remote, the whole campus has become an isolated village with more than 3000 people, and I am also one of the villagers. Our life is quite primitive, and all the raw materials for food come from farms. However, the way of cooking in the school canteen is really flattering, and the disadvantages of finding a job will also be reflected. Interviews or internships are not very convenient, so many people will choose to go to big cities to study for graduate students. "

Finally, when talking about whether he would go to the College of Arts and Sciences again, Toshihiko replied without hesitation: "I will definitely go. I don't understand now how I pushed my way through the crowd to make such a correct decision. I feel that my personality was formed during my undergraduate period. "

I have a strong feeling that today's young people are between 18 -22 years old, and their thinking about learning lifestyle, passionate goals and future planning has reached a height that their parents can't reach. Whether you choose a liberal arts college or a comprehensive university, what is more important than choice is the selection criteria. Under the influence of family education, our students constantly sum up what they need, what kind of person they want to be and how to get to their destination through their own reading, experience and thinking. This way of thinking cannot be achieved overnight, and it needs constant training and guidance from the preschool stage. It is especially gratifying to see that they have further strengthened their direction and thinking by sharing their experiences in the College of Arts and Sciences.

We found that everyone spoke highly of the quality of teaching, the relationship between teachers and students, and the influence on children's life-long thinking mode. Of course, the relatively remote geographical location and over-idealized campus atmosphere of the College of Arts and Sciences also require our families to think carefully. Generally speaking, students who have a strong interest in humanities and social sciences, basic science and art education, are willing to accept strict academic training and have a clear postgraduate entrance examination plan are the first group to consider liberal arts colleges. In addition, some students who have defined their professional direction in high school, such as business, engineering or architecture, art design, etc. You can also give priority to liberal arts colleges with particularly strong academic strength in these fields, or set up 3+2 projects with top comprehensive universities, which is a very cost-effective choice for professional level and time.