My daughter has found a college she really likes. Her only negative is that it is small (2000 students). My husband and I feel this is the best thing for her as she thrives in small situations. I would love to hear from parents whose kids go to small colleges and how they like it. Thanks.
Most of the schools my daughter applied to last year had less than 3000 students (state flagship and another top university excepted). More importantly, she wanted small class sizes and found that in smaller schools. She also wanted to be taught by professors, not TAs, something again you find in smaller schools. There is a sense of community that you don’t necessarily find in larger schools. One way to get that sense is a honors program within a large university, like our state flagship that provide separate housing, some classrooms, coffee shop, etc only available to honors students).
2000 is a decent size where there should be a good choice of majors and faculty to support them. I would be less supportive of a school with less than 1,000 students. For me, that’s a bit too small.
@cjbuckets…I believe academic fit is very important in a student’s final decision. My son thrived in a smaller school (4,000 students) My daughter loves her large school (21,000 students). My son loved small classes that averaged 15 or fewer students. His one large lecture had 35 students. He really got to know his professors with dinners at their homes, etc. He had the opportunity to study abroad for a semester. Over three-quarters of his class took a full semester or year abroad. His abroad classes were large lectures. He did well abroad, but was glad he chose a small school. I love small schools for an undecided student like my son as it was easy to move from Arts &Sciences to the accredited business, computer science, or even engineering programs (with carefully selected courses). Everyone is different. Good luck to you and your daughter.
Is this the college in your other thread that’s six hours away and now your child has cold feet about attending or is this a different school?
Daughters both attended small schools (2,000 to 3,000 students). Both did very well and liked their schools.
Yes - she says it’s not distance now it’s size. She doesn’t know what she wants so I’m just trying to research to ease her concerns. I know we will figure it out. Thank you for your responses.
Are there other choices on the table? I know this time last year, my daughter was kind of a mess. She knew which schools she didn’t want to attend (safety and mom’s choice) but that still left three, maybe four, on the table. Reasons changed with each choice including size, distance, location, perceived food quality and where she wanted to live her life. Even though my child knew all her decisions by now (mid February), she didn’t decided until late April.
It was a bit frustrating as a parent she took so long but I had to let her go through her decision-making process (whatever that was). Can she take time to make a choice? Is there a need for a firm decision now?
To answer the question, my child attends a school with 1200 students, about half the size of her high school. She’s only a freshman but she loves it and has thrived there. I think the close and direct relationship with faculty helps her.
My D is a frosh at a LAC a little smaller (1900?). She loves it. She knows all her professors but is not even close to knowing all of even just her class. She’s had no problem registering for classes and getting the ones she wants. She has easy access to the career center, writing center, “quant” center, her adviser, an alumni mentor. She’s in a handful of clubs and has been offered leadership a position in one already (and it’s a national club where other chapters are much larger). She can walk to any class or meal or to work out in 5 minutes.
One remarkable thing, to me, is that she’s applying for some summer research programs (not at her school though she’s doing that too) and was able to find enthusiastic professor recommenders who actually know her. After one semester. I think that’s very difficult to find at a large school.
What is especially nice about a small, close-knit LAC was that my daughter knows and interacts with faculty whose classes she has NOT taken. Even they have given D some ideas on what to study or do given her goals and interests. That said, one student tour guide at a smallish university said it best, “If you want some distance between you as a student and your instructor, you may not want a small school. This won’t be the place for you.”
My daughter is at a small LAC (under 2000) and is loving it there. She is close to everything (cafeteria, gym, classes, etc.), has not met all the students (not even close to all the students) and really enjoys the small class sizes. She has been able to get into every class she has wanted to take (as a freshman), even one that was full (she went and talked to the prof a couple of times and he let her in). The smaller classes, all taught by professors, not TAs, don’t let students hide in the back and not participate - so there have been lively discussions in those classes, something which she really enjoys. All of the professors are approachable and have time to meet with students since their focus is on undergrad education. My daughter is also really enjoying the close-knit community that many of these schools have to offer.
My D attends a very small HS and wanted a small college. She only applied to a couple that have more than a few thousand students, and chose the smallest of all at <1,000. One of the reasons she chose it is that everyone knows everyone and is very supportive of one another. On our tour the guide knew every professor, student and admin staff by name, and they knew her.
My niece went to a LAC about the size of your D’s school, OP, and had the kind of experiences others mention-dinner with profs and the president, close friendships with students outside the major, support from the profs because they really got to know her, etc.
Since your daughter has switched reasons for anxiety, it would seem that anxiety is the problem, not the specific reason. I could be wrong, but that what is seems to me, reading the two threads. I would give her the option of attending closer to home and see what happens. Maybe hearing that she can do that, will free her up a bit, because she will be in control.
We looked at one small school and I knew immediately it was too small (1200), as did that daughter. Other daughter thought it was nice. What I noticed was that there were only 5 math professors, so what if you didn’t like one, or didn’t want to get to know him?
Daughter who wanted a larger school ended up at a smaller one (3500) and the one who wanted a smaller school ended up at a school with 10,000. Both are happy, both know many professors and TAs, both have some small classes and some with more students. Does it really matter if there are 30 in a lecture hall or 75? Discussion groups are always small.
The one who wanted small can’t imagine that now. She’s changed her major and is glad for the choices available at a bigger school. Her original major was small, with only about 30 freshmen, and it was too small. Same kids in every class, same teachers (love them or hate them, that’s your choice), same every day. She enjoyed her other classes more, even the big lectures.
My D1 got multiple invitations over her years at a LAC to meet with speakers who came to campus (attend dinners, small group meetings, etc). She was a top student in her department, and got to do this several times. I doubt she would have had those opportunities at a larger school.
Both my husband and I attended small LACs (many years ago) and felt that a small LAC would be the best fit for our son because of the small class sizes and close interactions with professors. The only thing we worried about was whether there would be a wide enough variety of students for him to find like-minded friends (he is quirky and didn’t make friends easily in high school). We shouldn’t have worried. He is at a LAC with between 1600-1800 students, loves it, loves his classes, loves his teachers, has a great roommate, and ended up finding a fun group of like-minded friends in his dorm within the first few weeks. I’m not saying that every kid necessarily belongs at a small LAC, but it is a great choice for students who thrive in small, discussion-based classes and hands-on educational environments.
Yes - we did that. We took all the pressure off. And it is definitely anxiety. Thanks again!
Son’s very small school is “taught” by TAs. The professors only lecture and do research.
His high school was bigger by 1000 students. He has not had a good time.
Dd’s went to very large schools. They both ended up loving their schools.
I wanted a small environment but I couldn’t imagine going to a college smaller than my high school (6k students). I ended up choosing a large university with a small residential college to get the best of both worlds. Resources of a large research university but the close intimacy of a small environment with encouraging professors and students.
Just a thought if people are trying to balance the small environment with the sometimes resource constrained issues that can come with such a small population.
I attended a small college (Reed). At the time it had only about 1,000 students. I never felt it was too small, because the curriculum laid out an enormous intellectual world for me. I wasn’t looking to college as a place to acquire specific job-related skills. I knew that it was highly likely that I would get another degree.
I would also note, however, that the size of a college may not be as important in some respects as its location, in particular whether it’s in a relatively remote small-townish environment or instead in or near a large metropolitan area. Reed was in what used to be a suburb of a mid-sized metropolis (Portland, OR). My daughter wanted her college to be in a “real city.” It was a small college (art school) in a mid-small city (Providence), but when she needed the really big city she took a weekend in NYC. My son attended UChicago, a smallish undergrad population (~4,000 at the time) in a larger university and a very large city. He made a point of getting well off campus into the city a few times a month.