So I am in the middle of my university research and I think I want to go to a medium sized school (5,000-20,000) but I am not entirely sure yet. Could you post some positives and negatives of going to a big school (over 20,000) , small school(less than 5000) and medium sized school (5,000-20,000)?
Smaller schools tend to be purely undergraduate-focused. If you are considering them, this concept should appeal to you. In terms of their academics, even some with less than 2000 students offer over 700 courses, which is, of course, over 650 more courses than you would ever take.
There are many links on CC about this topic so you can search them out. IMO it really comes down to personal preference and what you want out of your college experience. If you can try to visit one of each type of school and see what feels right to you.
I like being at a midsized university because there’s a diverse group of students to get to know, but the class sizes are very nice and I don’t just feel like a number.
Not commonly discussed – perhaps because it may appear too good to be true – is that, beyond educating their students in the conventional sense, smaller colleges may, quite literally, help them become smarter. See studies such as, “How the instructional and learning environment of liberal arts colleges enhance cognitive development” (Pascarella, Wang, Trolian, Blaich).
Big difference in feel between 5,000 and 20,000. Wouldn’t group both of those in the same group. With 5,000 by senior yr you will know, know of or recognize most students in your grade. Not so with 20k
Consider class size and diversity of course offerings.
A breadth of majors can be nice if you are not sure what you want to study. This may point to medium to larger schools.
Re #7, however, many large universities such as Harvard do not offer undergraduate programs in fields such as business, nursing and education, so the range of majors available may be specific to the school itself and may not be a direct function of its size.
^I was trying to evade the CC contrarians through the use of the word ‘may’. No such luck, darn it!
Re #9, I’ll endeavor to be at most a “soft contrarian” when I appreciate your contributions in the future. In this instance, though, I thought an alternative point of view – considering some of the preconceptions that are often associated with this topic – required some emphasis.
The feeling you get on campus is so so so important. I too was unsure so I toured UW Madison, U Chicago and Oberlin over a long weekend (lots of driving but it worked). This way I could easily compare the sizes and the trip reinforced that for me liberal arts colleges are best.
While some people may like knowing everyone on campus by senior year, some may not. My D put felt than anything under 5,000 was just too small. Its a personal preference.
@merc81, what size college do you attend? Did it end up being what you thought you’d want when you were a HS sophomore or junior?
In my experience, it’s not uncommon for a student to think (or even “know”) they want to attend a certain size college or university when they’re juniors or even first-semester seniors, only to discover, as their high school career winds down, that they want something completely different.
That’s a reason, IMHO, to hedge your bets and apply to a range of schools … “Just in case!”