Do you think that large universities are better than small colleges? I am personally torn between the two. I really was deciding on going to a large school and fratting, but my father doesen't want me to. So, I'm thinking about swimming at a division III school and rooming with one of my high school teammates. Anyways, would you rather go to a smaller school or a larger school?
I'm at a small college. We get more one-on-one time with the professors so they know our names. The max class size is like 150 but usually at 25. As you become an upperclassman you have classes with many of the same people. The smaller campus size makes it easier to get around. What I don't like is the lack of diversity (in multiple ways). Plus, there aren't many clubs to join. Sports aren't very rigorous, whatever our division is.
If I were you I'd go to the bigger school, the larger schools down south tend to be more liberal than smaller collages and have more opportunities than you'd probably find going to a smaller collage. Sure if you need that smaller class size, swimming and have a good friendship then it might be worth it, however there probably won't be quite so many 'opportunities' when compared to the more liberal outlook that some larger, more progressive collages have. I'm going to a small'ish school this fall, however it's right near where I live and I know people there; it's a nice pretty open campus and I won't mind being out; since I'll definitely be there by that point. I might transfer later, however for at least this first year it'll be cheaper than going anywhere else and I'm looking at like 50K debt by then end of CL :eek:.
I like my large university. It has over 26,000 undergrads. It doesn't feel "too big" and I get personal attention in all my classes. As another poster has said, I'd imagine that larger ones tend to be more liberal, and I believe that they can provide a broader social experience, which is actually very important.
I went to a private high school, where it was a big deal to have a 16 person class. For college, I went bigger - I think it's in the thousands... When you go to a small school, everyone knows your business. The bright side is that, typically, you fit in (or at least have a much greater chance of feeling like you belong to something.) At my high school, I knew it was more conservative, but I still felt like I belonged there. Larger universities are nice because if you want to zone out and be a number, you can. If you want to fit in, you can become a bit more connected with your major...but that still depends. I'm pre-nursing right now, and I definitely don't feel like I belong yet in that department (with classmates, I mean.) There is a much bigger chance of having different clubs with a bigger school, so that could be where you connect yourself.
Is it hard to be out and find guys to date at small schools? The school I was thinking about is apparently a christian school, which means it is probably quite conservative.
I attend a private university that is smaller - about 4,400 students - and I absolutely love it. I couldn't imagine being in a lecture hall with 80+ other students (had a class in the fall with only four other people) and getting help from TA's rather than professors. Everyone knows me by my name, my major, and what I want to do. It's like a family atmosphere. I'm not saying a large university cannot provide you with a solid education, but I think smaller schools definitely have an advantage.
I went to a large public research university. For my interests, it was perfect. I wanted to large college feel, big sports team divisions, and a big name to help me after graduation. I was a science major, so I needed a college that had good, high quality research that I could get involved in as an undergraduate. Sometimes small state colleges do not have research on going at their university and focus on teaching-it depends what your emphasis needs to be. My first two year class size were pretty large 100-400. But my upper division classes my other years were from 25-60, with seminar classes being less than 20. It really depends what you take. My time at university got me the "college" experience I wanted. I think you can find this at any size institution.
I applied to one of the biggest universities in the country because it's in the capital city. That was my only reason. And I've already lived there for a year and loved the anonymity of it all. And I've seen gay couples there for the first (and only) time in my life!!:icon_bigg I'm definitely going back there. (Let's hope I'll have enough points to be admitted.:icon_sad
I go to a larger university of 24 000 students. I imagine the decision is a lot different in the US, but for me it's definitely the way forward here! Even at with so many of us and in one of the UK's biggest cities, I still see end up bumping into so many people I know, so there's still the 'community' aspect. If anything it's stronger because there is such a variety of things to do with enough people for quite niche-y things to run well. One downside is getting academic references though - I'm sure this will change, but at the moment whilst I'm doing four subjects, I don't properly know any staff and have to rely on high school. And my friends are mainly based on who I live with and who is on my courses.
I went to a small Catholic college of about 2800 students...and if I had to do things over, I might have gone to a larger university. Preferably in a large city. I just feel like a larger school would have had more to offer in terms of both academics and in terms of other activities and people to meet. My parents told me that a smaller school would make me fit in better and not just get lost in a crowd, but I still slipped through the cracks, I didn't have any strong relationships with any professors even though the classes were small, nobody really took any personal interest in advising me so that I wouldn't end up changing majors 3 times, screwing up my GPA, and graduating without a real plan of what to do after college. I think, whether you go to a large school or a small school, your own level of motivation will be what decides your outcome.
When it was my turn to pick, I picked a large university. It was a no-brainer for me based on what I wanted. I wanted to go to a university where I would have a lot of opportunities both social and academic. I wanted to go to a school where the students actually attend the sports games. Basically, I wanted a large university and I never even considered going to a small college. As for the whole if you go to a large university the professor's won't know your name idea, that isn't necessarily true. If you're a good student and you actually speak to your professors (which you should consider doing anyway regardless of the size of the college/university you attend if you want good letters of recommendation later on) chances are that they'll know your name. If you sit in the back of the room and don't do much, then chances are that they won't learn your name. It is a bit like working for a medium to large business. If you don't stand out, quite a few people will have trouble remembering your name. I don't know how much luck you'd have dating at a small religious school. Also, from what I understand, quite a few small schools are really big on gossip. This obviously isn't limited to small schools though. I wish you the best with your decision
It would depend on how conservative they are, I think. If conservative mainstream, or fundamentalist, you can probably forget about dating. On the other hand, a liberal Christian (ELCA Lutheran, for example) would probably have a very real hope for being able to date. ---------- Post added 27th May 2013 at 02:02 PM ---------- One way to see what the LGBT attitudes are like at a college is simply look to see if they have anything for gay students--a GSA, support services, etc. This information is usually on the website. If there is nothing available, the environment may be gay unfriendly, or even hostile.
My liberal Christian college is also Lutheran! I had a chance to go to a Presbyterian or Free Methodist college but they were much more conservative.
I like all the amenities that I get at my large university, but I don't like the lack of "one-on-one" time between students and professors. So I'd say it's a mixed bag.
I kind of think that a small college would be better, as you would get more personalized attention from the professors. In the fall, I'm starting at a mid-sized university, so we'll see how that goes.
I'm hopefully (grades dependant) going to a smallish uni, but one in London so you get the best of both worlds, really. Small classes and staff that know you but the annonymity of a big city. And the gay bars
