<p>Does anyone have any input re: making a vast, massive institution such as Ohio State, “small”? For instance, does anyone have any experience with student club and/ or club sports experiences that made the whole thing a bit more digestible?</p>
<p>From a parent’s perspective I think you need to remember that your life at Ohio State will be mostly in the area of your study. You won’t be taking every class there, you don’t have to meet every person there, and you don’t have to be involved in every activity there. You will make it yours. </p>
<p>You will meet people in your area of study, your dorm, and your activites of interest. I do know the Scholar’s program is especially good because you live in a dorm with people who have your same interest. </p>
<p>It really is not that big when you carve out your little piece of it.</p>
<p>NervousNellie is right, the smallness comes from the friends you develop, the people you live with, and the people you see in your classes. I am a senior finance major, and while finance is one of the largest majors at OSU, I still recognize people in my classes, and am in a special honors program within the business college where I take several classes with the same people, and thus have gotten to know most of them fairly well. I became close friends with people who lived on my floor of the dorm I lived in, and see them around campus quite often.</p>
<p>The bigness is really only in terms of the amount of opportunities available to do or pursue whatever you please.</p>
<p>My DS went from a graduating high school class of 175 to Ohio State and he finds it “small”. Ohio State does a good job of breaking things into small groups in order to have students get to know other students better. Some examples are programs such as OWL where my DS made his first friends who are still his friends 3 years later. Honors College and the freshman small seminar group are another. Camp Buckeye and the Freshman First Year Experience are another. </p>
<p>In terms of club sports my DS competes for Ohio State in paintball which is recognized as a college sport. [Home</a> - The Paintball Club at The Ohio State University](<a href=“http://osupb.webs.com/]Home”>http://osupb.webs.com/) and [Log</a> In | Facebook](<a href=“The Paintball Club at The Ohio State University (OSUPB) | Facebook”>The Paintball Club at The Ohio State University (OSUPB) | Facebook) My DS absolutely loves it and has competed all over the U.S. Ohio State supports the Club with some money and the students fundraise for the rest of it. Since Ohio State has over 1000 clubs events such as the Involvement Fair help make the school small. </p>
<p>My DS also did the Humans versus Zombies game and met a lot of students that way. Finally my DS was invited to a fraternity and really loves it. It was not part of his initial college plans but he went with an OWL friend for the free food and ended up receiving a bid. His brothers have done a great job of supporting him with rides to the airport etc which is important to me since we live in San Diego. I know my DS also sits on the intrafraternity council and has met friends that way.</p>
<p>When I helped my DS move this past August and we were driving around campus I discovered my DS knew a lot of students by students calling out his name or waving to him. This clearly demonstrated to me that Ohio State can be small. My DS was particularly shy in high school so that fact that he has made so many friends in a place as large as Ohio State tells me that they do a good job of making the “massive institution” small. Join some things when you are a freshman; volunteer to be an OWL and trust me you will find it small too.</p>