Whether you’re a high school senior choosing a college or a freshman at a college looking to transfer, you still want to know the trade-offs of your school size. I went to a state university that had over 46,000 students, but I have friends who attend small private schools with 5,000 students. I will take the following paragraphs to list some of the pros and cons. All of this is based on my opinions and my personal experiences at a great university. My assessment of small private schools could be wrong because I have never personally attended one.
Right off the bat, when you think of a great university (Texas, Ohio State, University of Florida), you think of sports. One of the main advantages of going to a great university is its sports programs. If you are a sports fan, attending a Division I soccer school could influence your decision. Televised games, pep rallies, homecoming parades, and rivalries are all part of attending a great college. However, you don’t have to love sports to go to DI school. There are thousands of students at the big universities who want nothing to do with sports, and that’s okay because there are so many other things to do.
Large schools also have large libraries and multimedia centers. There are many places to study and many computer labs to do your work during class. I used to go to a computer lab (there were hundreds of computers there) between my classes and surf the web or complete my homework from the night before. In a small school there may only be one library and it may be too far out of your way. In a large school, there is a library, study room, or computer lab on every corner.
Food is another advantage of attending a large university. They have several dining rooms and not to mention Dunkin ‘Donuts, Starbucks, Chik-Fil-A, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, and basically every other fast food place you can think of right in the middle of campus. You can get food anywhere. And the dining rooms actually have edible food. They don’t serve Helda’s three-day meatloaf with peas. We had fresh baked omelettes with bacon and pancakes every morning. Bet you can’t get that at Flagler College.
Some other quick advantages of a great university are the social aspects (fraternities and sororities, intramurals, clubs, student government, etc.). Most universities have a distinguished faculty that knows what it is doing. Another advantage is that there is accommodation on campus for freshmen (and sometimes for sophomores). This gives you the opportunity to wake up 10 minutes before class starts and walk there in your pajamas.
Some disadvantages of a large school are large class sizes. You can probably have a class with 900 people. No matter what you say or how many questions you ask in class, the teacher will not know your name. Many classes are taught by teacher assistants, which means you don’t get the quality you would like. In a big university you are just a number to some people and you can get lost in the crowd. Ultimately, all teachers think they are good and care more about their own research than helping students.
Small colleges, on the other hand, have smaller classes. These smaller classes can put more emphasis on learning and hands-on experience. I have never attended a small university, but they most likely have more individualized majors. It is not a fixed curriculum that thousands of people follow every semester. With smaller classes, students can get to know their teachers better. This is great when it’s time to find letters of recommendation. Try to get a letter from a teacher when you were just one of the 900 students in the class.
Another advantage of attending a small college is that the advisors know the students very well. Try to see an advisor in the liberal arts faculty at a major university. Come to a hundred children a day and they will never remember your name or the classes you are taking. Also, there is a greater sense of community in a small school. You are not just a number on an ID card, here you are a person with a face and a name.
If you have any further questions about college size, feel free to email me at [email protected]
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