<p>A frequently criticized aspect of having a large entering class is the lack of personalized attention one receives from professors.</p>
<p>However, can it be said that this will result in a larger alumni network when one graduates?</p>
<p>It’s also more efficient.</p>
<p>Professors and TAs hold plenty of time outside of class to answer personal questions and have discussions. Most of this time goes unused by students. </p>
<p>When you are being lectured material, there really isn’t much need for answering questions. And you learn the same material whether you are in a lecture of 3 people or 300 people.</p>
<p>its true that during normal times, TA and prof office hours are good. a week before exams, its like impossible. tas and prof surrounded by like 20 students. it PERHAPS result in larger network.</p>
<p>If you went to OH on a regular basis, you wouldn’t need to cram right before a test.</p>
<p>And most profs and TAs also hold extra office hours the week before a prelim or final.</p>
<p>Another advantage of a large class: more people get to learn.</p>
<p>Honestly, I see nothing wrong with huge lectures…if you really need help from the professor, go to office hours and sit in the front row every lecture. In my experience, they are more than happy to help you.</p>
<p>Better professors teaching the courses.</p>
<p>I like the feeling of sinking into a seat in a HUGE lecture hall. What’s wrong with anonymity? The professor’s available after-class and during office hours if you need the personalized attention. The TAs are more than accessible. In the meantime, if I have to text a friend, I can. If I’m having an off day and want/need to doze off or do the daily crossword, I can.</p>
<p>Trust me, it’s not a problem.</p>
<p>Smaller classes, especially seminars, are always BETTER than larger classes.</p>
<p>As size goes down, discussion, intimacy with professors and classmates, and specificity of the material (directly related to your and your class’ interest level) go up.</p>
<p>The idea that “better professors” teach larger courses makes me laugh…</p>
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<p>I would have to disagree with that. While you are right that smaller classes get more one-on-one contact with professors, it’s not necessarily true that the specificity of the material and class interest decreases with larger classes. From my own experiences thus far, my large classes have pushed me to work even harder to compete with even more brilliant minds. Additionally, I agree that often times better professors teach the larger classes. After all, teaching a class of 300-400 kids, any of whom can ask you difficult questions at anytime requires an individual to be very familiar with the material. Also, the majority of classes come with a pre-determined schedule/syllabus; no matter what, the professor will work his or her hardest to incorporate all of the material to a desired level of specificity. In fact, a negative of smaller classes is that often times the professor may be more tempted to get off track. With 400 students waiting to receive instruction, there’s a greater level of formality and sense of direction observable in larger classes.</p>
<p>lianri, where’s your evidence?</p>
<p>Not all classes are discussion format, or require any form of discussion. Most lectures are supposed to lecture you the material, not discuss things.</p>
<p>In my FWS, I only had 15 kids, but I didn’t get intimate with any of my other classmates and trying to skip class to do something that I deemed more pressing caused anxiety with the need to explain myself and e-mail the professor. In my large chemistry and math lectures, I got very intimate with my other classmates, it’s where I’ve found some great friends, I also became close with my professors, and didn’t feel any anxiety about having to miss class as long as I could read what was required.</p>
<p>“Smaller classes, especially seminars, are always BETTER than larger classes.” </p>
<p>You don’t think that professors who teach larger courses are under more scrutiny? Some of the best professors I’ve had at Cornell taught intro courses. I can think of so many examples where I’ve had a better education in a bigger class than in a smaller class.</p>
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<p>That is probably true of humanities classes. I cannot imagine taking a class in the English department with more than twenty people. </p>
<p>I don’t think large classes are really a problem for most other types of classes, though. Professors and TAs offer plenty of office hours, and most of the professors I’ve had have been pretty engaging.</p>
<p>I’m glad that this thread was started…it took me a long time to choose Cornell over smaller LACs. I came to the conclusion that at a large university I can still get personalized attention/help at office hours, I’ll find smaller class sizes as I move up to more advanced courses, etc. At the same time, I’ll have unlimited academic opportunities that small LACs really could not have offered me. Also, I think I’ll really grow as a student and person by working harder to stand out and get to know my peers. </p>
<p>I guess I’ll find out if I made the right decision in the fall. But as of now, I have no regrets. :)</p>
I realize that this thread is ancient, but I feel compelled to comment anyway. I recently transferred to Cornell from another school which had small class sizes (avg ~30). As a junior transfer, I’m currently taking a lot of my core major courses, so most of them are cross-listed with other majors, and therefore the classes are huge. Here are the sizes of my current classes: 700, 300, 200, 200, 135. Personally, I think it sucks. It’s simple math. The more people, the less time per person the professor can spend. Office hours aren’t enough. Most professors hold 1 hour per week, and it’s usually during the time when most students have class. The TA hours aren’t much better, and they frequently don’t even know the material that well because they’re just trying to earn their tuition for their PhD and may not be overly familiar with that particular class. My advice to anyone who really wants the best education possible: Go to a school with small classes where you can get the attention you deserve for the outrageous amount of money you’re going to pay. If i had it to do all over again, I would look at options with a more undergrad focus.
MODERATOR’S NOTE:
Which is why old threads should not be resurrected. The original poster is long gone. Closing.