I need help deciding between big or small school? Feeling lost

College Search & Selection
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<p>I would say I'm shy and just not as outgoing as I wish I would be, but I hope to change that in college. Maybe I'm a bit of an introvert. I have a solid group of friends, mainly from my sports team that I am a part of at my high school. I'm not very popular and sometimes feel alone though, and popularity isn't a big concern for me at all but I just probably didn't socialize enough when I first started my high school career. I'm not the best at socializing but I can do it and I hope to get better at it when I start college definitely.</p>

<p>I am looking forward to college, yet I can't decide what I want. I know this may sound ridiculous and pretty pathetic on my part, but I am interested in a smaller school, yet having discussions and really intense classes with 5-10 kids makes me nervous. I consider myself smart, yet not a genius. I haven't challenged myself to my best ability, but I am no slacker. I want to be eager to have intellectual conversations and really delve into a smaller environment, but I am doubting my abilities to be honest. Is that fair to say? </p>

<p>On the other hand, a big state school makes me nervous because I feel like it will be like my high school. I guess if I find a nice group of friends I won't mind. But big numbers intimidate me. I am one who enjoys watching football on TV and I would love to go to big home games if I get a solid group of friends to attend with. But it's not like I have been dreaming of painting my face and screaming at the stadium my whole life.</p>

<p>Basically I cannot decide if I want a big school or small school and university or more liberal arts orientated. And time is counting down with early applications beginning to become available. I'm nervous and feel like I am running out of time. I have a list of colleges, mainly state U's, but I am not in love with going to any of them. I'm sure I'll fit my way in wherever I end up, but I really want to make a good choice and at least figure out if I am bigger or smaller but I just don't know.</p>

<p>I don't really want to be known as just a number in the crowd, but I am also worried about my ability to be put on the spot and being with such a small amount of people who I know are all so smart. So at the same time I am telling myself that I will just go with the flow and let myself be a number =/</p>

<p>Help?</p>

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<p>Have you visited any local liberal arts colleges (LACs), your state public or any medium-sized private schools? You might want to do that - and sit in on classes, eat in the cafeteria, visit a dorm - even if they aren’t the schools you would ultimately apply to. </p>

<p>I admit to a personal bias: I think LACs are great for students who are a bit shyer, or who value a sense of community highly, because you probably share some of the underlying cultural values, and seeing the same people in multiple settings - class, the cafeteria, the dorm, the ECs - gives you multiple opportunities to connect. At large schools, people have to create the social networks for themselves (frats and sororities being one favorite way to do this). On the other hand, at a smaller school, the culture of the school matters more so you need to find the right fit. At a large school, you are certain to find people ‘like you’ eventually - it just takes more looking.</p>

<p>Bottom line is that you can probably be happy and successful in most environments, but one or the other will be optimal for you. Do some visits, do the research on the schools, and post on CC re what you are looking for so others can help.</p>

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<p>Tell us more
</p>

<p>What are your stats? GPA and test scores?</p>

<p>What is your likely major?</p>

<p>What state are you in?</p>

<p>How much will your parents pay?</p>

<p>Larger schools that have excellent honors programs may be a win/win for you. They have honors housing, small classes, and other benefits. </p>

<p>As for the face-painting at football games
I know a quiet New Yorker who never went to a football game before who is now body-painting for big Div I games
changes do happen. ;)</p>

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<p>3.8 GPA, 28 ACT. Retaking ACT, hoping for 30+</p>

<p>Completely undecided on my major :frowning: Nothing calls out to me</p>

<p>I’m in the Midwest, would rather not disclose the state</p>

<p>Financial aid is a problem since we won’t really qualify for any, yet we can’t afford to pay what our EFC says. Still looking at options that are higher priced. I am still looking at some outside scholarships, and also merit scholarships any schools might offer.</p>

<p>I just feel bad having the feeling in the first place that I won’t belong in a small class, discussion based setting. I want to thrive from that but I am just doubting myself. I can’t see myself LOVING either sitting in a big class as a number OR participating heavily in class. But I feel I am selling myself short but not believing I can achieve things in a discussion based class with like ~10 students.</p>

<p>I love watching sports and want to possibly continue playing mine in college. Not a huge factor, but it is one.</p>

<p>I haven’t looked into Honors colleges much but they do sound like a viable option. I am applying to several Big Ten schools for sure since that is what my parents want. But I have not looked into many other options yet and time is running out.</p>

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<p>I was in your position - introversion and all that. I started out at a liberal arts college (again, LAC) and found it to be very limiting on a number of fronts, including the subjects I could study, the types of people I was exposed to (very homogenous) and limited access to research opportunities.</p>

<p>I transferred to a large university and loved it. Just so you know, I had many small classes at the large university (15 or fewer students) and many large classes at the small liberal arts school (100-200 students per class), so that myth isn’t true. Not all small classes are discussion based, but I wouldn’t get too caught up on that. </p>

<p>I built much stronger personal relationships with my big university professors (drinks after class, weekends at their homes) than at the LAC. Being in the upper classes rather than lower helped on that front, though. I also developed a tighter group of friends because I wasn’t forced by necessity to be friends with people I otherwise wouldn’t.</p>

<p>Especially if you don’t know what you want to study yet, the options to explore entirely different fields with dedicated staff (not just a class or two) proved very valuable to me and I think would do the same for you.</p>

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<p>I won’t disagree with applejack, but it seems unusual to get to know professors better at a large university than at an LAC. I think an LAC could help you get over nervousness speaking up and college is your chance to do that–better now than when you start a job. And the classes won’t be 5 - 10 people, as you indicated. More like 20 - 25. Also you could consider slightly bigger LAC-like places like Colgate and Bucknell (more in the 4000 student range) is you want to look for an in between. And, of course, include both on your list because your best look at them will be during the accepted student days and you may get a feeling then between the two types.</p>

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<p>^^^</p>

<p>It depends on the university.</p>

<p>My kids’ large univ has very personable profs that invite you to lunch or invite you to dinner at their homes.</p>

<p>*Financial aid is a problem since we won’t really qualify for any, yet we can’t afford to pay what our EFC says. Still looking at options that are higher priced. I am still looking at some outside scholarships, and also merit scholarships any schools might offer.</p>

<p>I haven’t looked into Honors colleges much but they do sound like a viable option. I am applying to several Big Ten schools for sure since that is what my parents want*</p>

<p>Well you have a serious problem. A Big Ten school that is in your own state might be affordable (if your parents will pay for THOSE costs), but I doubt that any OOS Big Ten schools will be. You need to explain that to your parents. Those OOS publics will expect you to pay full freight.</p>

<p>Outside scholarships are not going to make these schools affordable. Outside scholarships are often SMALL, have a “need” component, and are usually for freshman year only
so no help for soph, junior, and senior years. </p>

<p>You are in danger of having no affordable schools if you don’t use a careful strategy.</p>

<p>since you have an unaffordable EFC, then you need to find out EXACTLY how much your parents WILL pay each year. </p>

<p>You also need to retest. An ACT 28 is not high enough for significant merit at Big Ten schools or similar. Also take the SAT.</p>

<p>Find out how much your parents will pay.
They need to fully understand your situation. They may not understand the nature of private scholarships as describe above. They may not know that you can’t borrow much. You can only borrow the following amounts
</p>

<p>frosh 5500
soph 6500
jr 7500
sr 7500</p>

<p>To borrow more than that is dangerous and would require your parents to co-sign.</p>

<p>If your parents say that they can pay $10k - 15k per year, then that’s the cost of room, board, books, fees. That means that you’d need a full tuition scholarship to cover the rest of your costs. An ACT 28 isn’t likely going to get you a full tuition scholarship to any school that you’d consider.</p>

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<p>@applejack, what LAC has 100-200 student classes? I’ve experienced nothing but VERY small classes (7 people in an intro Chinese class) that are all almost entirely discussion based. Granted, there’s going to be plenty of variation between LACs, but I was under the impression most of them limited classes to a much smaller number than large unis did.</p>

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<p>^^^</p>

<p>There are small schools that have large lectures for classes like Gen Chem, Biology, American History.</p>

<p>My older son is at a small private and even tho he’s in a PhD program, he’s taking one undergrad class for fun
and it’s quite sizeable
they’ve had to change classrooms twice to fit all the students. </p>

<p>I understand that there will be small course offerings
but that’s true at large univs, too. My kids often have or had classes with less than 10 students in them. </p>

<p>So, it’s a myth that small privates will provide all small classes.</p>

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<p>I’ve attended one moderately sized private (~6000 undergrads) and attended or taken classes at four large publics (12K, 18K, 18K, and 27K undergrads). I’m extremely fond of all of them and have received a great education so far. On the other hand, I will readily admit that choosing unpopular departments has had a great deal to do with my reasonably intimate academic experience.</p>

<p>I was pretty hesitant about LACs in high school and applied to only one. My boyfriend and sister both attend LACs, however, and they’ve really opened my eyes on the matter. LACs provide superb educations, and the intimacy of a LAC social scene (which some admittedly find stifling) simply cannot be replicated at the vast majority of universities – public or private, honors or not.</p>

<p>You definitely sound like a small school person to me. Unfortunately, m2ck brings up a good point. Most LACs are private and thus quite expensive. You need to either consider LACs that will provide merit aid or look for public LACs in your state (e.g. U Minnesota-Morris). Small universities like Dartmouth and Wake Forest are worth a look as well. Incidentally, you need to get over your fear of discussion classes if you are interested in graduate school; virtually all graduate classes consist largely or solely of discussion.</p>

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<p>This is a problem that can severely constrain the list of schools that you can realistically afford. Since need based financial aid will not cover your actual need, you need to find good merit scholarships (usually found at low safety level schools trying to attract better students, but also Cooper Union which gives every student a full tuition scholarship) or a low list price (usually in-state publics, though there are a few low list price schools (even for out of state) like the public schools in the Dakotas, and University of Minnesota, Morris; the military service academies also count if you intend to become a military officer). A few super-reach (probably out-of-reach) schools like Harvard and Stanford do give more generous than typical aid for the few whom they do admit.</p>

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<p>Its all a personal decision, i know people who go to big colleges and love it and i know others who feel lost in the mix, i love my small school in a big city because i get the specialized attention yet i still have access to opportunities.</p>

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<p>Mom2CollegeKids has it right. It’s a complete myth that LACs intrinsically give you more personal attention and smaller classes. My private LAC had about 1,500 students total and my university had about 20,000. You’re forgetting that large universities break down into smaller specialized programs. So while there might be a lot more people on campus, there are also significantly more fields to study that break those students into small, specialized communities and, consequently, smaller classes (there are also more shared resources to hire more professors). </p>

<p>In contrast, my experience at an LAC was that there were fewer major options so a lot more students funneled into fewer broad programs (the Biology major, for example, clumsily captured a range of students interested in everything from Medicine to Ecology). </p>

<p>I’m not exaggerating about the personal relationships, either - I felt every bit like a number in my large LAC lecture hall classes (not all LAC classes were large, of course) and, at least at Cornell, wound up with more lasting and personal relationships with professors who took the time to get to know us both in and outside of class.</p>

<p>So, take home message for the OP: Focus on the major you want, not necessarily the school size. You will have large, anonymous lecture classes and small, intimate discussion classes at both an LAC and a larger university. </p>

<p>Also, consider the possibility that you’re more likely to find specific niches of friends that you really click with at a larger university as opposed to an LAC. In my experience, and as mentioned above by an LAC advocate, everybody sort of hung out with everybody else due to proximity. Some people call that “a tight-nit community” while others call it “limited options”. Depends on your perspective. The reality is that most of my LAC friends were from a very homogenous background and faded away after graduation because we didn’t have that much in common beyond proximity at the time. Most of my larger university friends came from diverse backgrounds and remain close today because we sought each other out and connected on a deeper level.</p>

<p>This is just my experience. I’m sure others have different views, but I just wanted to correct some of the broad myths as you make this major decision in life. Whatever is the best school size for you, you’re not going to avoid your phobias by simply choosing a big, small, or medium sized school. Better to overcome your fears as a part of growing up.</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

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<p>The top 30 or so universities and the top 30 or so LACs appear to be roughly equivalent in the percentage of classes with under 20 students. However, if you look at classes with over 50 students, it seems that many more LACs than universities hold the percentage to a minimum (0% - 5%). Furthermore, regardless of class size, the professors at LACs by definition have no graduate students. For better or worse, they also tend to have fewer research program responsibilities.
(<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/708190-avg-class-size.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/708190-avg-class-size.html&lt;/a&gt;)</p>

<p>Some highly selective private universities can give you an intimate, LAC-like classroom experience. Still, I don’t think we’re talking about a complete myth here.</p>

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<p>At one LAC (about 2000 kids) we visited this summer, our rising senior tour guide said the biggest class she had been in during her three years was 28. At another (2800) , a bio prof admitted apologetically that the prior year they’d had a freshman section of 45, the largest in her 10 years there. At a highly regarded research U, they seemed proud of the fact that their freshman science classes were no more than 200 kids. </p>

<p>Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using CC App</p>

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<p>I think you already know what the answer is, OP. If you are an introverted person who already often feels isolated or lonely, jumping into a giant pool of anonymity is unlikely to change that; while there are lots of niche groups, you’d need to be a proactive extrovert to connect with them. Your basic personality is not going to change because you force it to based on some idea that it is “better” to go to a bigger school, or “better” to be an extrovert. It’s not a defect to be introverted! IMHO, you will feel desperately alone and lost at the biggest universities.</p>

<p>You are at a party — do you gravitate to a small group at one side, or do you want to work the room, meeting everyone? You are planning a party — do you want to have a small and cozy event or does it feel like failure if you can’t get 40 people together? Choosing a college is only about FIT for YOU. Perceptions, snobbery, future plans
those are all false constructs. Just try to find something you can afford without taking on a mountain of debt, and that suits you personally. (I got my BA at a very small midwest LAC. Grad degree at Rutgers. Both were fine experiences as measured against where/who I was at the time)</p>

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<p>

Good clarification - I was under the impression we were talking about equivalently top rated LACs and large universities, not comparing, for example, Williams to Arizona State. I would never make the claims I did if that were the case.</p>

<p>I got that impression because the OP said she is applying to several Big Ten Midwestern schools. I don’t know which ones, but as a group they are obviously among the best larger universities in the world.</p>

<p>As I said regarding attention from professors, my experience was that they were as or more available at the larger university than at the LAC.</p>

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As an introvert who gravitates to the small group in the corner and has trouble meeting people, I disagree with this poster’s fundamental premise. It’s not like introverts thrive in small towns and languish in big cities. I, personally, relish the anonymity and greater opportunities for activities that naturally put me in touch with a few like-minded people in a bigger city setting and struggle in a small town where I always encounter and have to engage with the same people (yes, I’ve lived in both). </p>

<p>The same can be true for schools. I just don’t think there’s a firm correlation between introvert / small setting and extrovert / large setting. Some will be more comfortable in an LAC and others at a bigger school.</p>

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<p>If class size is a significant concern, you can go to each school’s web site and search for its schedule of classes. Usually, the maximum enrollment for each class is listed.</p>

<p>It is also worth noting that major choice can have a significant effect on class size. For example, biology majors are more likely to find large classes than math majors who take honors freshman and sophomore math courses (or are so far advanced that they skip the freshman and sophomore math courses altogether).</p>