I’m a senior in high school, and most of the colleges I applied to are big schools. Any tips?
Curious about this as well.
I went to a large state school with approximately 40k students and loved it. You can always make a large school smaller. Getting involved and finding your community is key. For me, it was my sorority. For others it was band or another tight knit club. My engineering major was pretty small so it helped. Office hours help you form relationships with your professors, even in your large classes. Also, if you’re interested in sports at all, school spirit is usually pretty fun at big schools, and in general try to take advantage of any opportunities that interest you.
What do you want to know?
Both my grad and undergrad schools were huge. At my undergrad, I was part of a small residential college. As a grad student, I get to know the students I take on as research assistants and that I teach. The idea that you’re just a number is bunk.
Exactly what @naturaldistaster said…find a way to make a big school small.
This can be things like:
Honors College
Residential College (Dorm community)
Fraternity/Sorority
Sports
Band
Club
Take the time to talk to people and make connections. Go to the front in large lecture classes- much less distraction there.
Decide what classes you want early on and don’t change your mind before the add-drop deadline- your odds of getting off a waitlist are much better if you ride it from start to finish, instead of changing your mind and jumping to whatever is available.
Just do what you do, and don’t worry about the school being so big. You have a goal, stick to that goal. Plan out your semesters well ahead of time (degree plan) and work on a study plan because college is not as easy as high school. You are basically on your own and that can come as a shock to freshman students.
As my friend likes to say, in high school they hold both your hands, in community college they hold one of your hands but at the four year universities you hold your own hands (hand holding being symbolic of course). You are on your own.
I attend a large commuter school (40k) and people just focus on getting the classes they need to move on to the next stage of their life.
Attending a big school is like living in a big city. You don’t know everyone and don’t go everywhere. Find your neighborhood such as classes and majors, time and location of meals, church groups and activities, formal and informal groups, people in classes who take some route as you, where you hang out betwen clases, etc. Focus in your neighborhood.
Find your people. S17 goes to a school of about 25,000. He knew no one. He ran for office on his dorm floor and won. Met lots of great people through that and then met some people who led him to his frat. His major is smaller but he really hasn’t connected to people there much yet but has connected to teachers and TAs. Sit in the front. Go out, talk to people, go to clubs or sporting events. He loves it! Honors college is a great way to meet people too.
Clubs, Greek organizations, major-specific clubs/frats, study groups, intramural sports - all good ways to find like-minded folks and feel like part of a smaller tribe. Force yourself to become familiar with all or most parts of the campus (this will probably happen naturally over time as you take classes that take you all over) - it will seem smaller with more familiarity. You will no doubt be in large lectures with 100’s of kids - know that those sizes whittle down as you move through your college years. It’s a venn diagram - all of the students attending the school are in one circle, then you have other circles in which you are the center: major, specific classes, dorm, clubs, etc. The fun thing is finding people who are in more than one circle with you.