A Philosophical Approach to the Liberal Arts Education
From the 1982 St. Olaf pre-medical students' handbook
Education is a social process …
Education is growth …
Education is not preparation for life;
Education is life itself.
– John Dewey
A liberal arts education aims at providing more than pre-professional training. It strives to nurture an understanding of life, an understanding of both yourself and the world around you. It teaches you the art of living. As a liberal arts college, St. Olaf does not provide an education within one specialized field of interest, but rather, provides a foundation of knowledge in a multitude of fields. A St. Olaf education aims at developing your understanding of the entire range of human achievement.
The ambitions of the St. Olaf student who hopes to enter medicine must be founded on these principles. Preparation for medicine involves learning much about human nature and knowledge. Preparation for medicine is not necessarily a study within the scientific field, and it is not therefore, a specialization within one area of study. Within the principles of a liberal arts education, St. Olaf extends a variety of academic opportunities for the premed to pursue those personal interests aside from the required studies. The premed student should avoid specialization. Medical school will provide all the specialization needed. Rather, the premed should take advantage of the countless new experiences within the academic and cultural environment of this liberal arts college. When the time comes to apply to medical school, the student will be one among approximately 40,000 applicants, from which about 15,000 are selected. Applicants each have the difficult task of distinguishing themselves from the other candidates, and revealing their own individuality. Evaluating an applicant's diversity is indeed one of the most important criteria in the medical school selection process. Applicants who have demonstrated their individuality in their college years through displayed interest and participation in a variety of subjects and activities, have moved one step closer toward acceptance.
Since diversity is a criterion from which medical schools evaluate an applicant's zest for life and learning, by all means, be different. Consolidate this strategy in the master plan for your preparation for medicine.
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