The Degree AI Can't Replace
Why liberal arts is having its most important moment yet.
There’s a conversation happening in living rooms, school counseling offices, and college planning sessions across the country right now. It usually sounds something like this:
“Is it even worth going to college if AI is going to do everything?”
I understand why families are asking. The pace of change is genuinely disorienting. Jobs that existed five years ago are disappearing. New ones are emerging that we don’t have names for yet. And a machine can now write a passable cover letter, summarize a legal brief, and generate code in seconds.
So I get the anxiety.
But here’s what I’ve been thinking about, especially after a recent visit to The College of Wooster that I haven’t been able to stop reflecting on.
A Visit That Changed How I Talk About This
After visiting The College of Wooster, located about one hour south of Cleveland, Ohio, I left more energized about liberal arts education than I’ve been in years.
Wooster is not a flashy school. It doesn’t chase rankings the way some institutions do. What it does instead is something far more rare: it commits, genuinely and structurally, to producing graduates who can think.
Every student at Wooster completes an Independent Study project, a substantial, self-directed piece of original research or creative work, mentored one-on-one by a faculty member. It is the capstone of their education and the throughline of everything they do there.
What struck me most wasn’t the campus, the programs, or even the outcomes data, though all of that is impressive.
It was the students.
On nearly every tour stop, I watched them do something you can’t teach in a lecture: think originally, sit comfortably across from adults, find exactly the right words, read the room, and hold contradictory ideas in tension without flinching. They were articulate without being rehearsed. Confident without being polished in that hollow, coached way.
These are the soft skills that increasingly matter most in the workforce — and they’re exactly what a liberal arts education is designed to build. Intentionally. Over four years.
If you’ve been sleeping on small liberal arts schools, Wooster is worth a serious look. early bird™ features 250+ colleges, including The College of Wooster, each matched to your student’s goals, values, and learning style, not just their GPA. Create your free account and find the schools that are actually right for them. Explore colleges on earlybirdcollege.com
