Size Matters, right?

College Search & Selection
21

My daughters went to school with essentially the same group of kids from K-12. Their school wasn’t small per se, but I think the experience of seeing the same kids all the time for all those years played into both of their desires to go to BIG universities. I practically had to pry them out of the car to tour anything with under 12,000 undergrads.

On one of our big university tours, the guide said, “There are many ways to make a big school feel smaller, but no real way to make a small school feel bigger.” I agree with that observation. As others have said on here, there are ways to find a smaller community at a big school (honors/fellows programs, living-learning communities, sports, clubs, Greek life). The caveat being that the student has to put in the effort to seek out and join these smaller communities. Both my daughters landed at very large universities - my oldest found a smaller community in her major and also by joining Greek life. My younger daughter has joined and an on-campus fitness group, plays intermural sports and is in Greek life. There’s definitely a learning curve, I think, with large universities and new students need to give themselves some grace in settling in and getting their bearings. Parents sometimes lament after a couple of weeks that their student isn’t adjusting, but sometimes it could take a couple of months or even a semester.

My younger daughter can be more of an introvert (or perhaps an “introverted extrovert” is more appropriate) so we had many conversations before she began her freshman year, about putting herself out there. I worried for a minute about her adjusting to a large U environment, but she hasn’t skipped a beat.

Part of me was also concerned that by going to a large university they would miss out on more of a “hands-on” experience with their professors, but that hasn’t been the case. They’ve both been able to make connections with the professors & advisors that they are interested in - as long as they are willing to put forth the effort.

There’s no right or wrong answer - your daughter just needs to figure out what feels right to her.

3 Likes
22

I have a relative who works in higher education. He did his UG at a LAC and has worked at,a number of state flagships. He likes the latter for "student entrepreneurs ". As he puts it, the big schools have absolutely everything but you are probably got to have to work out on your own that it’s there and how to get it. I think it’s really key to work out how well your D would manage in this environment. My kid finished college with this skill but didn’t start with it, so the more “personal” LAC was a better choice. I suspect that many of the kids who make connections at larger schools are the ones who start with those skills in place or who are keen to develop them.

You may also have to be better at an EC to pursue it. Club soccer is likely to be of a higher quality but also gated by tryouts.

Otoh, if the fit is wrong at a LAC, you may be very limited in your options.

Overall, I think LACs tend to be easier places for someone with multidisciplinary interests and that could be of interest to someone who is thinking about law,school. Less red tape in getting classes outside your school, etc. And profs who will help you work this out.

I would worry less about whether your D CAN do it than what she wants and where she thinks she’ll thrive. Most schools have plans for “on boarding” new freshmen.