<p>I'm currently in a medium-sized college and thinking about transferring to University of Pittsburgh (main campus) after this year. So I'm just wondering if it's harder to learn in bigger classes since 'the professors don't care about you' and 'you're just a number.' Any opinions?</p>
<p>Depends on what kind of learner you are. If you like reading books and learning that way, I don’t see any difference. But if you like listening to lectures and actively asking the professor questions, then yes, it may be harder to learn in a bigger class. That said, some of the effects may be mitigated if you take advantage of office hours and help sessions.</p>
<p>It depends, but in my experience at a big state school, I didn’t feel like the size of the school impaired by education in anyway. It depends on the professor, but the vast majority of professors that I knew cared very much about their students and their learning (although everyone showed it in different ways). Many professors tried very hard to do whatever they could to aid their students learning (within reason, of course), but they still expected their students to act like adults and be responsible for their own learning. I’ve had professors who were willing to meet up in the student center or coffeeshop with students to discuss coursework, or who invited students to their house for dinner or brunch. There are professors who try their best to be available to their students, but it’s up to you to do what you can to take advantage of that.</p>
<p>Professors often hold office hours, and many in my experience are willing to make appointments to meet with students one-on-one. In larger classes, there are often TAs that hold discussion sections and office hours for extra help. Also, even at big state schools, there are classes with smaller class sizes. I’ve had classes that had 20-30 students in them, and in other departments, classes of around 30 students is the norm with the biggest classes being 40-50 students. It depends on the size of the department, as well as the size of the school.</p>
<p>You may not have the opportunity to ask every question during class, unless the other students in your courses don’t have any questions, but in my experience, this isn’t much of a problem at all. Just jot down your question, and ask the professor after class or during their office hours. Many professors and TAs are also willing to answer questions over email as well. Or better yet, take the time to seek the answer for your question in the text or online, and then ask the professor or TAs if you need assistance interpreting your findings or for extra help.</p>
<p>If you are the type of student who is willing to take charge of your learning and who is able to learn independently and seek help when needed or wanted, you will likely do very well at a larger school.</p>
<p>Generally, classes get smaller and faculty take more interest in students at higher class levels. So even at a big university, you may find that coming in at the junior level puts you in classes much smaller than you would have seen if you started there at the frosh level.</p>