<p>Im kinda shy when I first meet people but I love the city. Ive got to be near it or in it. I like george mason and vcu. I would really enjoy a smaller school near the city where I can get personal attention but I don't think i'll find that in va. Should I look a big universities?</p>
<p>You should not rule out large universities just because you are shy. Some people, shy or not, prefer the chance afforded by a large school to be anonymous when they choose to be, and the extensive course offerings. Choose your residence, academic program, and extracurricular activities with care to provide you with the environment you prefer. An honors program, for example, would provide you with smaller classes, if you qualify.</p>
<p>I was shy, until I had a few real friends that fixed that for me. :)</p>
<p>I used to be a bit shy, not so much anymore, and I am and have always been very introverted. I enjoy a big school because it affords me limitless different niches to explore, which makes me feel more confident and at ease with being myself. You know, if I don’t click with one group of kids, there are millions of others. There isn’t as much pressure, in my mind, to fit in. But that’s just how it works for me.</p>
<p>Sooner or later, I think you’re going to have to overcome your shyness. It doesn’t really matter where you go; there are all kinds of people everywhere. You might as well just suck it up and take your shyness by the horns.</p>
<p>Be careful though. Like I said, there are all kinds of people everywhere.</p>
<p>Yes. You have to try to break your shyness or at least reduce it. Try doing a myriad of things that you are uncomfortable doing over the span of a few weeks. Just suck it up and do these things and complete them no matter how bad you feel. A lot of small steps lead to a big change.</p>
<p>My opinion is no.</p>
<p>If you’re shy, you may very well find yourself with no friends at a large transient university. Students that attend such schools typically are not as committed to taking on a new experience as those at residential small schools. They often keep high school social circles and are not as eager or willing to make new friends as students at a small residential school. This can really be a problem if you’re shy.</p>
<p>Have you ever heard about how lonely people can be in a large city? Big U is the same thing. Sure people can tell you that you ought to change, and maybe you will if you work at it. But you know yourself; in that picture are you introducing yourself to people sitting near you in large lectures, joining clubs where people all seem to know each other already (they don’t, but it often seems that way walking into a room full of people talking away), maybe rushing a sorority and all the pressure that entails? If not, a big U might not be the right fit for you, especially if you pick one assuming you’re going to drop that shyness and it doesn’t happen.</p>
<p>There are plenty of small colleges located cities or their suburbs (unless you’ve already picked out one city as the only right one for you). Get Petersons or spend some time on the web and find those schools! Be sure to look into how friendly people are reputed to be, whether students stay on campus or go home on weekends, and if housing is provided.</p>
<p>the key to making friends is to get yourself actively involved in clubs and activities. You will meet people who share your interests. If you’re friendly to them, they will likely be friendly to you as well. Never stay still and wonder if these people will like you. If someone for some reason doesn’t like your positive attitude, then that’s his problem. <em>Nike</em> Just do it.</p>
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<p>What a completely unjustified claim. So if people at big universities aren’t willing to make new friends then NOBODY has any friends then? Most people going to a big university (or any university for that matter) don’t know anybody else there coming in. There shouldn’t be too much of a difference. You’ll find your group of friends and favorite clubs and organizations at any sized university.</p>
<p>Go for the one that is A. reasonable in cost, and B. has a respectable programme in the profitable area of study one has picked. The rest will take care of itself.</p>
<p>Large universities have a much larger pool of potential friends than small colleges. </p>
<p>I am attending a small college (1,300 students) and I was miserable in my first two years because I felt out of place. The college attracted a particular type of person that I didn’t mesh with very well. In my third year I started making friends off campus, while spending time on campus with people I had nothing in common with except that we all felt like we didn’t belong there. </p>
<p>When I was taking classes at a bigger university in the past (~20,000 students, with 40 - 300 students in my classes), I didn’t have such a hard time making friends. The university attracted a much more diverse student body and I crossed paths with enough students, including other shy students who appreciated company, that I found people with shared interests pretty quickly.</p>
<p>If you like George Mason, go there.</p>
<p>It might be a very good fit for you. While it does have a decent size enrollment, I don’t think it has a very “big campus” feel. Many of the students are commuters and the setting (suburban) isn’t overwhelming.</p>
<p>Once you get past your core classes, the average number of students per course really shrinks. I went to a very large state school and my major courses only had about 30-40 students per class, often times much less.</p>
<p>What gives you confidence in social situations? What makes you happy? The answers to these questions are different for different shy people. </p>
<p>Some shy people will love a big school because of the “lack of pressure” - if you don’t fit in with one group, there are hundreds of others. They like the feeling of being alone when they want, but coming back to a dorm where there’s at least a few people they get along with.</p>
<p>Other shy people will prefer a small school because it’s easier for them to start a conversation in a club with a smaller number of people. Some shy people feel being in a smaller class or dorm will help them meet different types of people because they are “forced” to interact with everyone (i.e. they like or need the pressure).</p>
<p>Only you can look into yourself and know whether you are the type of person to feel more comfortable in a smaller, more contained environment, or in a larger, option-filled environment. This preference is not necessarily correlated with level of shyness.</p>
<p>I’ve seen shy people who absolutely love, love their big school experience. And shy people who love their small school experience. Finding your niche and getting leadership positions can be more difficult at a larger school, with 2x the options and 2x the competition. But people can also feel “claustrophobic” in a small school environment.</p>
<p>GMU is a major commuter school. You also wouldn’t be that close to the Metro and thus DC. It’ll feel very transient.</p>
<p>You ought to try and find out how students at these universities feel. A small university with poor residential programs will be worse for a shy kid than a big university with lots of residential learning programs. For instance, UMD is a biiiiig school but programs like College Park Scholars put kids in the same dorm buildings and they attend special lectures etc. It can certainly still be hard to make friends in your lower-level courses (like my 200 person Intro to Criminal Justice course) but you might find it’s not so difficult in smaller ones (like my Urban Studies course).</p>
<p>For instance, when I visited Virginia Tech I got the feeling that the student body is really, really tight-knit and that even though it’s a big school, people love each other there. Maybe you could check it out. It’s a gorgeous campus and setting, and their food is top-notch ;)</p>
<p>The problem with big schools is that freshman arrive in cliques. I went to a small undergrad-focused college where almost everyone was from a different place, and I was still annoyed to see cliques of 5 friends arrive from schools like Trinity or Harvard-Westlake. Now imagine that happening on a much wider scale. It’s not always easy to break into groups that have already formed.</p>
<p>I would recommend going to a small school to help overcome your shyness.</p>
<p>You just said you went to a small school and there were lots of cliques. Sounds like if anything he should avoid preppy schools (since I have no doubt that a school called Harvard-Westlake is preppy).</p>
<p>go to virginia tech
virginia tech is a great choice
it may be in a small town
but u gotta think its a college town
there are a million and one things to do there
but if your that set on a big city ole dominion is in norfolk
and uv is by richmond</p>
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<p>what the hell?</p>
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<p>i was going to consider that school…so i suppose it’s not that great of a choice then?</p>
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<p>this. I agree with this statement 100%</p>
<p>virginiagirl/OP: you should also look into Emory…I think you might like it :)</p>
<p>I mean, I’ve read it’s trying to become less of a commuter school, but the fact remains that it’s got a lot of commuters. It’s also in the middle of suburbia, sprawling suburbia at that. According to the CollegeBoard site, only 26% of all undergrads live on campus. Compare that to 42% at UMD, or 98% at Princeton. Now, UT Austin only clocks in at 20%, but it’s also in the middle of Austin which is a thriving city. GMU is in the middle of… Fairfax, lol.</p>