D19 really enjoyed Clark University at Saturday’s Open house, the staff, students, programs, etc… , but was concerned about the small campus. At 1:00: “Dad, we have seen the entire campus, I already know my way around”. (Of course her sister attends OSU, lol). I know it’s a personal preference, but would anyone else consider a small physical campus a deal breaker?
My kid loved her smaller campus.
My other kid loved his huge campus.
Depends on the kid
Another perspective: One of my friends works for Clark, and this is how she responded to what you asked.
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Clark is small compared to the large state universities. I had to take a bus to classes at UMASS! The size is part of the appeal. Plus, I do think that our campus is a bit misleading. We have a beautiful green space that is surround by classroom and admin buildings but our athletic fields are about a block away as well as our Visual and Performing Arts Center. Clark is surrounded by a neighborhood that has locals and students who live “off-campus”. For students here I think that makes the campus feel bigger. A lot of our buildings are actually houses too, which people may not realize are part of the campus. My office is in a beautful green Victorian and we have 6 or more similar buildings. English house, Philosophy House, IDCE etc…
No one has ever complained that the campus is too small. However, I have had students complain that they have to walk SO far from their dorm to their music class!"
Thanks so much for reaching out to your friend, she offered a great perspective!!
As another NJ engineer…have you checked out TCNJ for your child?
Campus size can be a definite factor. If one visit felt like your son had seen it all he may prefer a place with a lot more to explore. Everything the Clark person stated is on a large campus plus so much more. Of course those who choose a small campus will not complain- those who would did not go there. Your son should not go there if one day was too much time for him.
Small is definitely a deal breaker for my kids. Their HS has about 2800 students, and they want colleges that are significantly larger than the high school.
Daughter wanted a larger campus & larger student body. She didn’t want to feel like she was reliving her high school years.
She is currently on a large campus w/ about 14000 students. She was rather overwhelmed in the beginning, but seems to have finally adjusted.
She will not be home except for major breaks, so I can see the disadvantage of a small campus.
You might want to compare Clark by campus dimensions to other schools of interest. Clark reports a size of 50 acres. U.S. News can be a good source for this information.
https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/clark-university-massachusetts-2139
It’s really all about your kid’s preference. There’s no universal consensus out there on this topic. My kid preferred not too large and not too small. While the physical size was important to him, it was also very important to him to consider the size of the student body, as well as a racial and socio-economic makeup of the student body.
My kid is applying to larger and smaller campuses. Some rural and some more urban. As we get further into the process and visits, it seems like if he ends up choosing a smaller campus just make sure your student can find their people there. At a larger campus there is just more of everything and more people. I think if a student can connect well to a peer group at a busy, engaged, residential campus the setting of the college matters less. My kid would prefer urban and larger, but is now seeing the advantages of some particular rural schools for his interests and how much many of these schools have going on.
I think reliving high school has to do more with personal maturity than size of student body.
Keep in mind that there are also different definitions of “small” for each student. You can cram a lot of students into a small number of acres, and have large class sizes and problems registering for classes. My oldest had said she wanted a “small” college. What it really came down to was that she wanted a walkable campus. She didn’t actually want a student body of fewer than 3000 students. She ended up at a school with over 10,000 students, but she can walk from one end of campus to the other in 20 minutes. My DS wants a medium school, but we visited one in a very rural area with nothing around and for him, that was “too small.”
Clark is small. The college has done tremendously job in revitalizing the neighborhood. It’s more presentable now than say 15-20 years ago when talking about South Main St of Worcester made many people nervous.
I have friends, good friends, who graduated from Clark. They loved it there. It’s a very good small liberal arts school. Your child would be the one who decides if such a small size college would bother him or not (think 4 years).
Another good small college in Worcester is Assumption College (around 2000 undergrad students). I call it small but it sits on 185 acres. Assumption is located in the best part of the city.
For an urban university of about 2500 students the Clark campus is actually quite large in my opinion. Colleges in suburban areas or college towns have more acreage, it’s just that the buildings are spread out.
Clark has many wonderful aspects. It’s also part of a consortium.
This is all Question Number 1: big fish in a little pond or small fish in a bigger one?
It really does depend on the student.
My son enrolled in a college that is about the same size as his high school, ~4000. The thing is, it feels 10x larger to him because everyone on campus is his academic peer. There are many more students on the college campus who share his interests and they don’t have the narrow worldview that was so constraining in high school.
I think he would have found a huge, academically diverse, rah-rah university much more confining because he would have been in the same situation as high school of having to seek out his people. He eventually found his peers in high school and they are fiercely close, but it took 2.5 years for that to come together.
At a small school, “fit” may be more important than at a larger school. The size of the campus may not be as critical as the size of the student body and if the prospective student fits the culture. That is, if your son fits the vibe of a typical “Clarkie” he will probably be happy.
One of mine found a small school, which I thought would be a great fit, to be too small and the population too similar to his suburban high school. He was likley right about the vibe of that school - a bit too preppy for him. He went to a larger school where it took him some time to find his “people”. The large campus was not so great when you had to consider travel distance when figuring out a schedule. Being able to walk easily is a plus, but not if you don’t fit in.
One child attended a HS of about 2700, chose a college 1/2 that size in terms of population. This child also didn’t want a campus with lots of acreage to make getting to class easier.
Each child is different.
Early in the process, D18 had an idea that her college years were going to be spent at a school larger than her high school. Cut to when the rubber meets the road- she made a list of what was most important. It turns out, a small liberal arts college ticked all the boxes.
I would really encourage your daughter to dig deep and take the time to do this. What are the non-negotiables and maybe even the highly desirables, but not deal breakers? This is helpful.
My husband and I have had many conversations about the school experience our girl is having so far and it is favorable. She has been able to manage some adult tasks in small, bite sized chunks. She has been invited to participate in a book discussion at the College President’s home. She has been able to navigate some on campus resources without too much effort and they even offered her more than she asked. I have been impressed and although it is still early in the game, since she is across the country, I feel some level of comfort at the choice of a small school.
My best to you in this process.
Years ago Brown’s cramped campus was one of the main reasons I scratched it off my list when I visited as a prospective student. It probably didn’t help that I visited Brown (64.9 students per acre) right after Davidson (2.7 students per acre).
I currently teach at a fairly average-sized urban university (~220 acres) with a large student population and miss the sprawling green campus of my alma mater at times.