<p>I am currently attending a community college (2,500 - 3,000 students total) and I will be transferring very soon. I am a biology/pre-med major. In my college selection I have had a hard time determining how much I should emphasize (or not) school and class size. I have never been in classes with more than 50 students, and therefore I am afraid of what I do not know. I am very interested in several large universites, but the large class sizes have me concerned. What is your opinion regarding class sizes/university size? If you have any experiences - please share them! Do you think it is easier or harder to do well in small or large classes? Are there certain advantages and/or disadvantages? Thanks in advance!</p>
<p>I think once you get to the 300 & 400-level courses at a university you’ll be beyond the mega class sizes. So, if you’re coming in from a CC and have put most of your 100’s and 200’s behind you, you’ll probably find the remainder are nice, manageable class sizes.</p>
<p>I think you would have to be very self-motivated to do well in a class larger than 50, because you will get no personal attention. You’ll need to find other students in the class to specifically connect with, because it won’t be small enough that you’ll all naturally come together to study/compare notes/etc. The quality of the graduate programs matter a lot at places that have huge undergraduate classes, because the grad students are going to be the TAs who you’ll actually interact with. </p>
<p>The other thing I like about a small student body overall (not just small class sizes) is that you’re much more likely to share more than one class with some students, making it even easier to make connections.</p>
<p>My opinion is that smaller classes are superior to larger classes, all else being equal.</p>
<p>But then again, I work at a LAC, so what would you expect, right? ;-)</p>
<p>“Do you think it is easier or harder to do well in small or large classes?”</p>
<p>I think it depends on your personality. E.g., if you are terrified of speaking in class, you might not do well in small conference-style classes typical of LACs, such that you may prefer larger blend-in style classes. But if you’re reasonably outgoing, I agree with lynx.</p>
<p>Well, my case is a little difference. I will have all my general education (or at least most) completed with my A.S. degree. However, my biology courses do not transfer as well so I will still have to complete the entire biology sequence and electives for my major at my transfer university. Thus, I will still have a few 100 and 200 level classes. For example, one of the schools I am looking at is the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. There, I will have to do “Molecular and Cellular Biology 150” and “Integrative Biology 150” as well as some 200 level courses before I can take 300 and 400 level courses. This is true for most of the colleges I am interested in. So, that is why class size is still a consideration for me. Would these classes, since they are particular to my major, still be quite large or would they be smaller?</p>
<p>I have done well in school so far, but I am a very shy and reserved person. I am more inclined to go to office hours than to speak up in class. I do speak up in class, but I do not really enjoy it. As I have said, I have never experienced very large classes. So, I am not sure if I would like them or not. What kind of person does well in larger classes?</p>
<p>I am not as socially active as perhaps I should be. I only interact with a few people in class, and they respect me when I am studying and in class. I take class very seriously, and they respect that. So, “connections” are not a huge priority to me (even though I realize their importance).</p>
<p>Based on that inoformation, which environment do you think a person like myself would be better in? I know this depends on many variables, but just throwing that question out there! </p>
<p>Again, please share your opinions and input regarding class/university size!</p>