Many Options to Choose From
Liberal arts degrees include a wide variety of subjects in the humanities, including the social sciences, history, literature and dramatic studies, and the fine arts. It is also common for students who are unsure of the exact academic discipline they want to study to enroll in a general liberal arts program so they can be exposed to a range of different subjects. From there, they can declare a major, or they can simply complete a general liberal arts degree without focusing on a specific area.
Choosing a Liberal Arts School
Most four-year colleges are known for excelling in a certain subject area. For example, some schools offer excellent business degree programs while not being the best place to study physics. Generally, this depends on the quality of the faculty they can attract.
One path that many liberal arts students follow is to attend a community college for two years before transferring into a full four-year bachelor's degree program at a school of liberal arts. This is done for a variety of reasons. First, it allows students with substandard academic credentials to circumvent the standard admissions process. A school of liberal arts is more likely to accept such a student coming out of a community college program than they are to let them in with a weak SAT score or low grade-point average right out of high school.
Conversely, some students just want to get their feet wet with a variety of subjects before they spend a lot of money on tuition at a four-year college. It makes more sense to know what you want to study before you spend thousands of dollars than it does to spend thousands of dollars on a subject you're not sure about, only to learn it's not for you.
Benefits of Distance Learning Liberal Arts Degrees
If you're not sure about the exact subject you want to study, don't discount the benefits of distance learning liberal arts degrees. Studying online is a great way to save money on tuition and living expenses while you figure out what you want to do.
You can also complete an online liberal arts degree in less time than it would take to earn a degree at a traditional college. Because you can set your own study schedule, you're free to work at a faster pace than you could in a traditionally structured semester system. Some online colleges let you earn liberal arts degrees in as little as half the time it would take at a regular school, so this is something you should consider if you're looking to fast-track your education.
