<p>many schools boast of small class sizes and many people dislike public schools for this very reason (my mom being one of them). i would like some input from both sides of the issue. how much weight should class size be given in choosing a college? as of right now, i dont think it shoudl be a problem for me, but i have never tried to learn much from a 250+ lecture. </p>
<p>also, with the TA's teaching classes, you can still ask questions that they will most likely know the answers too, and they will be qualified to teach the material at that level, so whats the problem here?</p>
<p>i guess my main question here is that what is the downside to being a number not a person to the staff? for future recommendations and such, research opportunities and academic success ought to expose your name to the professors at any size school, and your not going to college to make friends with the admissions officers. so is being a number really just going to force someone to cave and not succeed in school?</p>
<p>I really think this is one of those personal things. You're supposed to do whatever think helps you do the best...Now i'm not sure if this can be compared to colleges at all but when i was very young, i was in private school. I didn't do very well at all. I switched to public high school and did very well in the larger class atmosphere. I think what i'm saying kind of turns into a question in addition to yours...</p>
<p>If you do better at the public setting rather than private setting (in high school or middle school) then should this be compared to how it will be in college.(currently deciding between a large UMich and small Case WEstern)</p>
<p>One thing to remember is that even though some prominent scholar is teaching an undergrad course, he's not exactly stretching his mind when he does so. In fact all the profs I know personally at large universities dread teaching undergrads. So there are 2 problems with going to the big university for undergrad:</p>
<p>1) You are going to get the lower part of a big-name prof's repertoire that a good grad student could replicate.
2) The big-name prof is probably not going to be giving you his "A" game--he will be giving that to his research and his grad students.</p>
<p>Ergo, I think the small colleges (Williams, Wellesley, Kenyon, Pomona, Holy Cross, etc. ) and the smaller Universities (Dartmouth, Duke, Princeton, Notre Dame, Rice, Villanova, etc.) are the way to go for undergrad. Even if they don't have the Nobel Prize winners, their individual attention will more than make up for it at the undergrad level.</p>
<p>that is a very good point tourguide446, thanks for the post. the next thing that comes to my mind is the fact that tuition at a private school will be $100,000+ while the university of washington's instate tuition will cost me about $30,000. with that being said, if i choose to pursue a career in engineering shortly after graduating, willl this $70,000 difference be made even becuase of the better learning at a private school? or if i choose to pursue the medical path i have heard both sides of the issue again. a smaller school will help me get into medical school with this personal attention, but ive also heard to save the debt for medical school because that will cost an arm and a leg.</p>
<p>ive taken a few large classes at penn state and have left each one feeling as if i had just paid a lot of money to read the textbook. this isnt a horrible thing if its just an introductory class or two in your major or an elective youre taking just to fill a distribution requirement. but its not a conducive environment to the critical thinking and dialogue that should be going on in college, or at the very least in advanced classes.</p>
<p>as far as tas teaching classes, the problem is often more with their ability to teach than their knowledge of the material. im going to be teaching a low-level mathematics course at penn state in the fall. the material is well within my grasp but i have no idea how to actually teach a class. ive never done it. add that many grad students in math and the sciences have a limited grasp of the english language and you can set yourself up for a brutal experience, especially if the course is designed to 'weed out' less capable students early in the process.</p>
<p>im not sure what you mean with your comment about admissions officers, but another bonus of small classes (besides actually learning more) is that you are MUCH more visible to your professors. you get to know them. they get to know you. thus, you get opportunities to forge the relationships that develop into strong letters of recommendation and good research opportunities much earlier (and more often). it doesnt work the other way.</p>
<p>my recommendation for anyone considering attending a large school is to go to its registrars website and look at an online listing of courses. look at the requirements for your major and see just how many classes you will have to take with more than 100 people and how many more will have more than 40. in some majors at some schools the number can down to a more appropriate 20 pretty quickly. if it doesnt it might be a program you want to reconsider.</p>
<p>From personal experience, I have found classes with about 20 or fewer students to be much more engaging and rewarding intellectually than the bigger ones. At whatever college you attend, the intro classes will have 20+ students, but at privates it tapers down quicker. The ability to discuss a topic that comes up in lecture or to deviate from the syllabus is much greater in a smaller class, which is what I think makes them so much better.</p>
<p>The question you pose in your second post is the classic one: pay a lot for a top school or pay a little for an okay school. The best scenario, of course, would be to get a scholarship at a top school, but, alas, not everyone is so lucky. If money is a major issue, I would suggest the cheaper school, but I think you would find that the level of intellectual stimulation at a prestigious university (arising from smarter classmates) is well worth some extra money, not to mention all the other benefits that come with privates.</p>
<p>Depends on what your major is a lot of times, and more importantly how well you seek out the help and office hours available. </p>
<p>The other thing that is important is just the overall environment of the campus. Even at state schools if the professorial environment is one that places a high regard on teaching, then even the "top" professors will be in class and be available. Of course judging the environment is tough (next to impossible) through most ways that HS students have of judging a college or university.</p>
<p>The thing is that the even in the big classes you can find ways to make yourself stand out or to get the most out of a prof. Sit in the front, ask questions, introduce yourself, go to office hours and stuff like that if you want the prof to notice you.</p>
<p>On the other hand if you're most worried about grades or what your actually learning in the class, there are ways to deal with that too...make sure you know what the resources are that are available to you. Most colleges have resource centers for the really large classes, as well as recitations or discussion groups and labs with TA's who can be a very valuable resource. Some even offer Supplemental Instruction in those very common, very large classes (General Chem or intro Bio for example). </p>
<p>The fact of the matter is a lot of the so-called benefits of small classes can be gotten through a little work in the large classes. Likewise it is possible (though harder) to disappear in a small class. There is no one way that is guaranteed from prof to prof, department to department, or even university to university. In the end, the benefits of small classes is really hard to quantify and even harder to put into a dollar amount.</p>
<p>thanks everyone. ericatbucknell your advice to check out the registrar was very insightful. after a couple minutes searching for the bloody site, i spent hours browsing it. I have come out with some great news, i think...but something will probably rain on my parade soon. UW does have HUGE classes in general classes (biology, chemistry, math, etc) that are needed to fulfill a pre-med requirement. BUT, a 5 on the AP physics B, a 5 on calc knocked off the math and physics requirements already, plus college-in-the-high-school for english and spanish gives me another 15 credits. the moral of this good news is that i have 40 credits going into UW, which makes my previously unreal option of pre-med and engineering become a possibility, i think. also, to stay on topic, all of these credits from high school get me out of some enormous classes, that do indeed soon taper down to more managable 50 and 30 person classes. however, i will end up in some 500 people chemistry classes an THAT is quite intimidating becuase right now, i am teaching myself chemistry in high school and hope that i dont have to do the same at a collegiate level, so please continue with the viewpoints on class size..thanks all</p>
<p>Are you one of those students who likes getting to know the professor on a personal level and would rather be able to talk one on one rather than just disappearing into a crowd? Think about how you are with your professors in high school, if you prefer to be just another face in the crowd, then you might not mind the bigger classes. If you would rather have a teacher that knows you by name, check out the schools with smaller classes.</p>