<p>There is starting to be some debates in my house over which type of school is better for a student who is undecided for his major.</p>
<p>I think a LAC would be fine if S feels that is what he wants to do. (Although I agree larger might be better than a school that is less than 2100. )</p>
<p>Husband, (who went to Rutgers) thinks a large university gives the student more options. </p>
<p>Any thoughts?</p>
<p>I think an LAC is much better. You do the core requirements and try out different things. Many of my friends at larger state universities had to pick which college within the University that they wanted to do. I was undecided and have loved attending my liberal-arts experience.</p>
<p>^concurred.</p>
<p>IMHO there is a 2-axis dimension to the choice. The 1st is a smaller personal environment vs larger U with bigger classes and a less personal experience. Some feel closeted in the former, others lost in the latter. It’s personal preference. The 2nd is opportunity. To be honest, though, if you don’t get into the most selective majors (performing arts, engineering, etc) as an entering frosh its very difficult to change majors into them at a larger U. The choices that are actually available (as contrasted to those offered by the U) are pretty much the same as those at a LAC (with the exception of a few majors such as advertising that you won’t find at a LAC)</p>
<p>Your S should sample a couple of large and small schools near home, just to get a feel for what each is like. They are so drastically different, and there are people for whom size matters. </p>
<p>I loved my gigantic state flagship which is essentially a small city; the excitement and vibrancy, the opportunities for every imaginable kind of class, activity, and friend, the sprawling campus, the ability to get lost in the crowd if I wanted to. But when I took D to visit, she was overwhelmed by the crowds and activity. She wanted the intimacy and relative calm of a very small college where she would know everyone and feel like she could make a significant contribution, which of course meant LACs. Although there are plenty of LACs which will provide a great education, I would have suffocated at such a place.</p>
<p>The absolute size can be important, but even more so is the average class size, the access to professors and support, a sense of intimacy and community, and a lack of stifling bureaucracy. You will find these qualities in most LACs, but also in some small to mid-size universities (such as Rice, Chicago, or most of the Ivies.) Chicago for example has a very strong sense of community and tradition, small class sizes, lots of support for undergraduates including a strong advisory system, but also is large enough to offer instruction in scores of foreign languages and first rate research facilities (including a ginormous library system). Compare the extent of Math department course offerings at Chicago with those at Middlebury for example. No comparison. The residential “house” systems at Rice, Chicago, and Yale also contribute to a sense of intimacy that you don’t get in a huge high-rise dorm on the outskirts of a sprawling state university.</p>
<p>There are pros & cons to each. As stated above, size is one consideration; course offerings is another.</p>
<p>Be careful that the large uni you choose not only has everything, but allows easy transfer between majors. Some schools for instance accept students to “engineering” and they can choose a major later if they’re undecided. Others, such as Illinois, have caps on some engineering majors and if you want to change to one that’s oversubscribed, you’re out of luck.</p>
<p>I think a mid size school (4,000 to 8,000) may be a good compromise, depending on the school. My s has the kind of personality that likes to be known to his teachers. He would like to be able to be involved in a lot of activities from XC to student government to choral groups.</p>
<p>I love schools that are LAC-like with students approx 3500-7000. Wake Forest, Rice, William & Mary, Tufts, Duke, Georgetown. Offer the best of both worlds.</p>
<p>The number of course offerings aren’t always in line with the size of the school, nor are all the courses listed in the catalogues always actually available. There are some LACs with an incredible breadth of course offerings. I can think of one that offers over 1,000 different courses with fewer than 2,000 students. That’s quite a bit considering a student will generally only take about 36 courses or so over four years. Many schools that are much larger don’t offer that number of courses. </p>
<p>Meanwhile, there are larger schools that are surprisingly limited in some of their academic departments. Hence, it’s not enough to simply equate the size of the school with academic opportunity. There’s a good chance it will still come down to the specific strengths of the given school and the department of interest.</p>
<p>@flvadad - which college are you thinking of? 1000 courses in a semester would be incredible; I’d love to learn what they’re doing.</p>
<p>Why not shoot for an honors college at a large public university?</p>