big University or Small?

[DeltAlum]

Originally posted by Fewdfreak
Iowa is big, though I believe it's the smallest of the Big 10 schools. I think it has roughly 20,000-30,000 people that go here.

Actually, I think Northwestern only has around 11,000.

I also find it interesting that people think of Oklahoma as a big university (our son goes there), but I think they have around 22,000 -- which I mentioned above would be considered a small to medium sized university where I grew up.

[APhiRattlerGal]

I think people have different reasons for going to a big school or a small school.

I went to a rather large high school and I was reluctant to go to a big university b/c i really like having that teacher-student relationship where i can go talk to them whenever i needed help and not just some big headed TA. I go to a small school (theres around 4,000-5,000) and i love it. While some people say bigger schools offer better majors and curricula, i have to beg to differ in my case. We have one of the top rated School of Sciences as well as School of Businesses. In addition to that, although we are a small school, our althetics department has done pheonominal. Last year our Softball team won Nationals and the year before that our Baseball team won Nationals for Div. II. and every year our basketball team makes it into playoffs. I love my school b/c my biggest class is like 20 people and my professors know me by name and major. Its nice to get to talk to them whenever i need help as well as being able to walk in my advisor's office in between classes to chat about anything ranging from internships to the latest on the World Series. Theres a lot of great networking going on when there is personal contact with the bigwigs at school who know other people to land you a REAL nice job before of after graduation. (I already have a job in line for me and i'm just a junior...go fig!) And of course there are like 4 other universities in San Antonio and we always party it up with all of em, so its always a blast. And of course its nice to see the different hotties at different schools

It all depends on what people want out of college. People want and expect different things. I'm not gonna bash on the big schools I'm originally from Austin and i pretty much grew up on the UT campus since my mom works there. Its really interesting to see the differences between my St. Mary's and UT. STMU may be smaller with more of a personal touch to its curricula, but i still LOVE sitting in that UT football stadium with like 80,000 other people screaming our heads off when a TD is made!!

[sugar and spice]

After a pretty miserable year at a large state university, I was looking to transfer to a smaller college because I felt like I would be more comfortable there. I looked at Beloit College, a tiny liberal arts college, less than 1500 students, and UW-Stevens Point, a smaller state school with 8500 students. I loved both of them but ultimately ended up attending the University of Wisconsin, which is obviously a huge huge school. I was apprehensive at first but I've ended up loving it. I think that bigger universities offer you the best of both worlds if they're run correctly, because they have fantastic academics and a wide range of choices academically (especially a good choice if you're undecided on a major as a freshman, because basically no matter what you end up majoring in you'll have a great education), but via things like the Greek system, clubs, the "house" system in my dorm, etc. -- it offers a lot of smaller communities so it's never too overwhelming. I think Wisconsin is perfect socially, because when I want to hang out with the same people (people within the Greek system, people in my dorm, people in my best friend's dorm) as usual I can, and this is great for developing meaningful friendships -- but if I ever get bored with hanging out with the same few groups of people, there are thousands and thousands of new people to meet. That's definitely a luxury that a smaller school can't offer you.

I do have to admit, though, that smaller schools often offer you more opportunities to get involved -- if I had gone to Beloit, for example, I could have been involved in theater productions there even though I'm not a theater major. I can't really do that at Wisconsin.

And yes, the atmosphere at football/basketball/hockey games is AWESOME at a big school -- I'm not a big sports fan, but I go just to hang out because it's so much fun.

[lifesaver]

I am all up for the big school.

My univ. is Division I, at 22,000+. They are projecting enrollment to contiune to climb to about 36,000. Of course I'll be long gone by then. I just liek the opportunities a large school afforded me. I did attend a small school my freshman year, and it was nice, but I am a bright lights/big city kid and liek the bigger is better thing for me. Anyday.

[KappaStargirl]

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

[SATX*APhi]

When I was in high school, I wanted to attend a small, private, preferably Catholic, university. I found St. Mary's University in San Antonio and loved the school. There are about 2,500 undergrad students. Everybody knows everybody on campus, especially if you are Greek. Lately though, I've been craving change and thought about transferring to a much larger school. I want to go to football games and root for my alma mater. I don’t know. I probably won't go to a larger university until Grad school though.