<p>What are pros and cons of big schools? Small schools?</p>
<p>Any thoughts?</p>
<p>"You can make a big school small, but you can't make a small school big."</p>
<p>Define "small"? Are we talking LAC small? As in 2,000 or fewer undergraduate students and no graduate students whatsoever? I will go under that assumption. </p>
<p>PROS OF SMALL COLLEGE (fewer than 2,000 undergraduate students and no graduate students):
1) Intimate environment (everybody knowns everybody)
2) Resources devoted entirely to undergraduate students
3) Small classes with a lot of faculty involvement
4) Since departments tend to be small, students are forced to take classes in various disciplines in order to meet graduation requirements
5) Tight-knit alumni network</p>
<p>CONS OF A SMALL COLLEGE:
1) Lack of diversity and variety in almost all aspects of college life, be it academic, social or extra curricular
2) Intimate environment. To some, small colleges can feel claustrophobic at times.
3) Small alumni network that absent in most domains and areas
4) Lack of major research projects</p>
<p>PROS OF A LARGE UNIVERSITY (more than 10,000 undergraduate students and large graduate student population):
1) Large faculty means diverse course offerings
2) World class labs and facilities
3) Professors that are leaders in their fields teaching undergrads
4) Student diversity
5) Hundreds if not thousands of clubs to join
6) Large and well represented alumni network
7) Participation in major research projects
8) Getting lost in a crowd appeals to some
9) Given the size of the school, influence of the faculty and sheer number of alumni in all industries and areas, on-campus corporate recruitment is heavy</p>
<p>CONS OF A LARGE UNIVERSITY:
1) Professors that are leaders in their fields care more about their research and graduate students than they do about undergraduate students
2) Impersonal Freshman year
3) Too much to chose from can be overwhelming at times
4) Competition for resources, must take initiative</p>
<p>CONS OF A LARGE UNIVERSITY:
5) Large classes
6) Teaching assistants
7) Inflexible bureaucracy</p>
<p>Vossron, I am not sure those points are endemic of large universities. Every research university I know, including smaller ones like Brown, have loads of TAs leading class discussions and classes with over 150 students. Columbia, which has 6,000 undergrads, has Freshman classes with over 300 students. </p>
<p>That is why I was careful to define "small" as colleges with fewer than 2,000 undergrads and very few, or better yet, no graduate students. Once a college has more than 4,000 undergrads and a faculty that must deal with graduate students and research, you are going to have large classes and TAs,regardless of the size.</p>
<p>As for inflexible bureaucracy, thanks to modern-day technology, one does not really have to worry about too much redtape any more. Students are doing almost all their administrative (bill payments, class registration, etc...) work online these days.</p>
<p>Small Colleges Pros:</p>
<p>6) Servers never crash when registration opens</p>
<p>Large Universities Cons:</p>
<p>8) Servers often crash, especially when registration opens or grades are posted.</p>
<p>Interesting observation... I presume this comes from personal experience?</p>
<p>p.s. Don't do CS at that school!</p>
<p>"Vossron, I am not sure those points are endemic of large universities."</p>
<p>Sorry, I didn't read carefully, missing the "more than 10,000" caveat; I was thinking "more than 2000."</p>
<p>We're fortunate to have one child at "under 2,000" and one at "over 50,000" so we see both sides. ;)</p>
<p>I prefer a large university. There are many pro's and con's.
Few Pros:
Student Diversity
A campus
Many things to offer</p>
<p>Cons:
Varies</p>
<p>I disagree with the idea that you can make a big school small but not a small school big. I think one of the smartest things you can do if you're looking at smaller schools is make sure that you can get off-campus for an evening or a weekend to make sure that it doesn't get stiflingly community-oriented and small. Going to nearby colleges for events and parties and going into the immediate town or a larger city a bit farther away are ways of making sure that a small college never feels suffocating.</p>
<p>More pros/cons that haven't yet been mentioned:</p>
<p>Pro of a small school: especially if you're unsure about what major(s)/careers you're interested in, the amount of support and advising you get at a smaller school can be extraordinarily helpful. Also, if you're struggling academically or personally, again, the counseling can be more personal and helpful.</p>
<p>Pro of a large school: There often are more (not necessarily better, but certainly more in terms of quantity) opportunities available in a larger school: more majors, more extracurricular events, more connections. If you're someone who is independent and motivated enough to seek out those opportunities, you can truly do well at a large school.</p>
<p>Con of a large school: If, however, you're not ready for college life, or you're not necessarily driven and competitive, you may very well be overwhelmed by a larger, probably more impersonal school. If you need a support system, or are interested in getting an internship or recommendations for grad school, a large school won't necessarily provide you, generally speaking, with the same amount of personal support and hand-holding that smaller schools can provide.</p>
<p>The pro you put down for big colleges is not even close to true:
"3) Professors that are leaders in their fields teaching undergrads"</p>
<p>Professors that are good teachers for undergrads are almot 9 times out of 10 at LACs. Big time proffesors are great grad school teachers, but only really focus on grad teaching and research. They might give one lecture, but for the most part are inaccessible to undergrads. LACs have teachers that are devoted solely to teaching undergrads and even though they are not big name, they are often much better teachers.</p>
<p>^ Poster mentioned that under "Cons of a large university".</p>
<p>
[quote]
CONS OF A LARGE UNIVERSITY:
1) Professors that are leaders in their fields care more about their research and graduate students than they do about undergraduate students
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Anyway, it's all up to personal preference. If you like choosing among many options and pride yourself on your independence, then a large university is for you. If you like a close-knit *community<a href="not%20necessarily%20friend%20circle">/I</a> and like one-on-one sessions with professors, then small colleges will be better for you.</p>
<p>I'm at a small LAC right now (about 2000 students) and I really don't like. It depends on what you're looking for in a school. If you want a school where you can find a party every night of the week, a school where everyone is going to all the athletic events with thousands upon thousands of fans attending or you don't mind just being a number in a huge student body, you would definitely want to look at a bigger school. But if you're not a huge partier, you don't care too much about sports and you want to have a more personalized college experience then a smaller school would probably be better.</p>
<p>
I'm a huge LAC fan, but I disagree with this. Professors at LACs are usually more dedicated to undergraduates, but that doesn't make them better teachers. </p>
<p>For example, look at where past recipients of the AIA excellence in undergraduate teaching award teach.</p>
<p>2009 Minnesota
2008 UNC Chapel Hill
2007 NYU
2006 Arizona
2005 GWU
2004 Missouri-St. Louis
2003 Willamette
2002 Wooster
2001 Indiana
1999 Evansville
1998 Michigan (now at Brown)
1997 Boston U
1996 Minnesota</p>
<p>Only two LACs (Wooster and Willamette) make the list.</p>
<p>Archaeological</a> Institute of America - Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching Award</p>
<p>given parameters here, what are pros/cons of schools between 5,000-10,000?? what about 2,000-5,000? major differences or same as small?</p>
<p>"I'm a huge LAC fan, but I disagree with this."</p>
<p>You're basing this on archaeology? :) Do a majority of LACs have archaeology majors?</p>
<p>"I'm a huge LAC fan, but I disagree with this. Professors at LACs are usually more dedicated to undergraduates, but that doesn't make them better teachers."</p>
<p>LAC Professors focus on teaching and therefore dedicate their time to being good teachers as opposed to professors at universities which are better at research and working with grad students (which is much much different than w/ undergrads)</p>
<p>^^ then what's the difference between an LAC and high school, SmallCollegesFTW?</p>
<p>Seriously, if you need teachers hand-holding you for another four years, we might as well call it high school. Larger universities give you freedom to sink or swim on your own with world-renowned names and faculty. LAC's, in general, hire good teachers who know their subjects, but are not PIONEERS in their fields like their Large university counterparts. </p>
<p>Seriously, I think everyone here has gone to or is going to high school and knows what it's like when teachers are more focused on you, and will listen to your excuses, guide you thoroughly, and spend a lot of time going over basics, etc. </p>
<p>And at larger universities, the top teachers teach Undergrads AND grads, and from my experiences, they treat them both pretty fairly and equally, and I have known friends that have had AMAZZINGLY helpful and dedicated professors at larger universities who were ALSO the top researchers in their fields and/or published a book every two or three years. You're making it seem like larger universities are filled with people who don't care about undergrads, which is largely NOT true. whatsoever.</p>
<p>
[quote]
You're basing this on archaeology? Do a majority of LACs have archaeology majors?
[/quote]
Haha, I expected that response. </p>
<p>No, nor do most universities. Most of the professors above are in religion, art history, or classics departments. Quite a few LACs have archaeologists on staff, and certainly all of the prestigious ones do.</p>
<p>From your username I assume you got to rice. That is a smaller university that is much more undergrad friendly. What I am referring to is schools 15000+ Students 6000+ Grad Students. Often large state universities and some privates. I am not saying there is anything wrong with these, I am just saying that in general teachers at lacks are known for there teaching.</p>