I got my Bachelor's at a very small school: Lawrence University, in Appleton, Wisconsin, whose population usually averages around 1,200 students. For me, it was a good decision. As a musician at a small school, I got many opportunities to play in large and small ensembles that I might not have had if I'd attended my second-choice school, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. I didn't have to fight (often) for practice rooms, and all the music majors knew all the other music majors, if by nothing more than name, face, and instrument. The small classes were good for me, as was the small campus (because I never learned how to ride a bike
). Some classes at Lawrence have a 2:1 student-teacher ratio. I never once took a class from a TA. Students regularly go to professors' houses for dinner and/or class discussions. True, there is apathy, and there is also sensory overload and a lot to handle at that school. But it only made me stronger and prepared me better for grad school.
The high school I attended has 2,300 students, and people asked me "Won't it be weird going to such a small school? Won't you know everyone?" The answer to both questions was no. Lawrence was as big or small as you wanted to make it. I certainly didn't know 1,200 people in high school!
Based only on what I've heard from friends who attended large schools, I think everything is different at a small liberal arts college. By the second trimester, all the faces are familiar. It's a very fast pace academically, and demands on time are made more extreme by the students having to live on campus all four years. You CAN surround yourself with new people, but it takes a little extra effort. Seeing the same people at the bars was no big deal. If you were friends, the more the merrier, and if not, you just went to a separate table. The belief that small schools are no fun and don't have anything to do is a fallacy. Although it was Division III, a lot of people still had interest in LU's sports teams, and there was a wide range of teams available to those who were interested. To me, seeing the same people at bars and not having a cool Homecoming is a very superficial reason to not attend a small school. Those seemingly overpriced private liberal arts colleges are worth it, and then some. Lawrence shaped me and made me who I am today, though I am endlessly cooler now than I was in college
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