Why should I go to an American college of arts and sciences?

Vasa College in upstate New York, USA, is not familiar to China people.

Founded in 186 1, this school ranks 1 1 in the latest ranking of American College of Journalism and Arts, and its popularity may be far less than that of its alumni, President Kennedy's wife Jacqueline and Oscar-winning Meryl? Streep, a new generation of actress Anne? Hathaway and China cultural celebrity Hong Huang.

With the increasing popularity of the College of Arts and Sciences, its educational philosophy is gradually respected. In recent years, more and more China students have applied for Vasa. However, compared with many comprehensive universities, the total number of students in China in Vasa is less than that in a major, with only about 60 students.

If you choose to live in such a small community, your study and life experience will be completely different from that of Big U-the unique academic atmosphere and close partnership created by tutors and classmates will have a great impact on your daily life.

This paper records a group of China students studying in Vasa, hoping that all students and their parents who yearn for liberal arts college and liberal arts education can get a close look at the study and life of liberal arts college.

She traveled all over the northeastern United States and finally chose Vasa.

Senior three studied in the International Department of the High School Attached to Jiaotong University last semester. When I applied for American books, money, like many people, had no concept.

Although she is sure that she wants to go to the college of arts and sciences, she still doesn't know which one to go to.

After consulting with her family, she decided to go to the United States to see the legendary college of arts and sciences in person.

With the help of an American intermediary, she followed a China intermediary to the top 30 liberal arts colleges in the northeastern United States.

As a result of this visit, she decided to come to Vasa.

After studying here for a year, Qian still remembers the night when she first arrived in Vasa.

Hungry, she found a Thai restaurant. As soon as they entered, they found that the boss was from China. Before leaving, the boss told her: I hope you can come to dinner again next year. In this sentence, the emotional money classmate knew that she would definitely come back here.

In Vasa's application document, Qian wrote: When she touched the stone walls of the school, she felt their heartbeats ... She wanted to be a squirrel on Vasa lawn.

"That kind of rational, stuffy school won't understand. If Vasa is willing to accept a very emotional and literary student like me ... As Vasa, if she is willing to accept me, she will be willing to see a student who likes her so much show sincere heart ..." Vasa, full of literary flavor, accepted the money full of literary flavor.

Vasa can really satisfy all the imaginations of young artists about a western university:

Her antique buildings, including the main building, Thompson Library, Observatory and Lombok Church, will make you feel the soul of liberal arts education. Her Francis? Lehman? Rob Art Center has Bruegel, Picasso, Balthus, Cezanne and Jackson? Pollock and Agnes? Martin, mark? The artistic treasures of Roscoe and others make you linger; What about Elizabeth? Bishop Jane. Fonda and Jacqueline? Kennedy ... these literary goddesses are alumni trained by Vasa.

Sa's courses, seniors and teachers

Freshmen live like this every day.

Get up at 5: 30 in the morning and cook a simple breakfast lightly to avoid disturbing your roommate. After dinner, do homework, read books and read materials.

Have the first French class at 9: 30. There are usually three classes in the morning and afternoon. After class, there are sometimes dance exercises and sometimes violin lessons.

In order to lose weight, dinner is sometimes exempted. It's usually eleven or twelve when I get back to the dormitory at night. Sleep almost six hours every day. Including violin lessons (counted as credits), she has six classes every day and philosophy classes.

Like almost all American universities, Vasa also offers compulsory writing courses for freshmen.

Although Qian made up a lot of books after receiving Vasa's admission notice, he was really taken aback in the writing class. The writing teacher asked them to find a theme from four books, one of which was James? Ulysses of Joyce.

In order to help freshmen adapt to this course as soon as possible, Vasa has set up a writing center. Here, seniors and seniors majoring in English will guide freshmen on how to write and give some pertinent suggestions, but they will not directly tell them what is bad and need to be rewritten. Money went almost every week last semester.

The care of seniors and sisters for younger siblings is not limited to writing classes or campus.

Fang Sida, a Shanghai guy who is about to graduate as a senior, has a deeper understanding of this.

He passed Ernst &; Young (Ernst & Young) was recommended by alumni and successfully got the offer of this famous enterprise. In terms of employment, China has always believed that Big U has an absolute advantage over liberal arts colleges.

Fang Sida doesn't think so. He made a comparison for us.

If you study business in NYU, there will be many big companies to interview in the graduation season, but Vasa does not have this resource, which is the disadvantage of Vasa. However, in terms of alumni recommendation, because the school is small and the alumni relationship is very close, I contacted them for help, and some of them were willing to extend an olive branch.

Comparatively speaking, there are more people in Big U. A well-known alumnus receives thousands of help emails every year, and it may be difficult for him to help you. Compared with big U alumni, Vasa alumni are very willing to help others, and half of them will reply to your email.

This is true for seniors, especially for professors.

Professors have working hours at least twice a week, and money will visit them at least once.

Her French is zero-based, and she has nothing to say about the professor's time. Let her review the words with herself, recommend some French fairy tales, and look up the words when she goes back, so that she can practice reading aloud in front of the professor next time so as to correct it on the spot. The professor is very friendly to the students. He will talk to her about her life experience and even teach her how to make egg tarts.

For teacher Vasa, every China student we interviewed was full of praise. Zhang Aoying said: "The biggest gain is the relationship with the professor. I really like these professors in Vasa, no matter they are from economics department or Russian department. I think I will keep in touch with them in the future. They are life mentors, mentors, not just teachers. "

Fang Sida, a senior majoring in economics, talks about tutor Paul? Paul Luther was also full of gratitude.

Paul. Rudy is the head of the Department of Economics at Vasa University, and once participated in the compilation of economics textbooks. Academically, he gave Fang Sida a a strategic vision and a global view; In daily communication, he will talk to Fang Sida about some very personal issues, such as course selection, internship, employment and other issues he is very concerned about.

On the one hand, Vasa's teachers can blend in with students, because the school is small and teachers and students have sufficient contact opportunities; On the other hand, it is also closely related to her liberal arts education philosophy.

The so-called general education has also been translated into general education and liberal arts education in China. It is an important concept in the western educational tradition, which can be traced back to ancient Greece. First of all, it refers to the knowledge and skills necessary for an "elite free man" to actively participate in social life.

With the evolution of educational thought and system, the connotation of liberal arts education is also changing, but generally speaking, liberal arts education does not point to specific vocational skills, but hopes to cultivate ideal personality with all-round physical and mental development and cultivate rich and healthy human nature.

This requires teachers to teach by example, care about students everywhere, find their characteristics and find the most suitable learning direction for them. This concept of liberal arts education is embodied in the curriculum, which is the intersection of disciplines.

For example, the economics department where Fang Sida works offers common courses such as macroeconomics, microeconomics, probability and statistics, financial market and investment, as well as interdisciplinary course, such as legal economics, political economics, behavioral economics, environment and natural resources economics.

However, some practical courses, such as accounting and auditing, are generally not available in liberal arts colleges like Vasa.

In addition, Fang Sida also made full use of Vasa's resources and took humanities courses such as history and philosophy. With China people's always pragmatic way of thinking, we can't help asking, what's the use of learning?

To this, Fang Sida replied:

The biggest thing that Vasa has changed me is that everything you do doesn't necessarily have a very clear purpose. You read these useless books and do these useless things in order to make yourself a more comprehensive and excellent person.

The purpose of these classes is not to find a good job. It is your knowledge, vision and values that accompany you throughout your life, not the title of your company.

Economics is related to history, politics and philosophy. Many economists have philosophical thinking in their minds. They had a great influence on history, and their economic views influenced the political development at that time.

If you really want to understand what you have learned, you must jump out of your field and learn many related fields in order to understand it better and more comprehensively.

This kind of education can give you a broader perspective. You don't just do problems and write formulas. You can understand the influence of these economists and philosophers on the whole process of modern civilization and the global political structure.

Many deans of liberal arts colleges say that thinking more critically and analytically will make your understanding of many things rise to a deeper level, not limited to the information itself.

Education teaches not skills and knowledge, but a way of thinking. Before entering the university, your thinking is that I want to finish one thing, finish A, finish B, and then finish C.

After such education, you will look at a thing from more angles, and you will use this way of thinking you have learned to analyze the premise and result of doing these things.

Students who have received liberal arts education may have more inclusive and comprehensive thinking. When thinking about every problem, you will want to think with all kinds of knowledge, not just your major.

Some "spits" about Vasa

Even though Vasa made so many overseas students in China like her and fall in love with her, there is no real money and silver, so "you can't finish learning".

Vasa, for these young people who have traveled across the ocean and left their homes, there are still some inadaptability and dissatisfaction.

One is climate, the other is geographical location, and the other is canteen.

20 13 and 20 14 for two consecutive years, the severe cold that swept through most parts of the United States made these international students see the terrible extremely cold climate.

This is an irresistible factor, but it is an hour and a half's drive from the center of new york, which makes some students in China feel unbearable. Most of them come from cities with millions of people in China. Some people go to new york once a week and go back on Saturday and Sunday.

And Vasa's canteen, no matter where you come from in China, I'm afraid you can't get used to it. Although you spit, you have to find a way or change your mind to complete your four-year study.

For the former, like money, she simply cooks breakfast herself. Regarding the latter, Fang Sida said that in this Vasa bubble, you can establish very close ties with your friends and pay more attention to what happens at school.