<p>What’s hard about large classes? They are hard only for some people, of course, but these are some of the disadvantages:</p>
<p>-you have to be self-motivated because no one knows or cares if you miss the class
-it’s harder to form a personal relationship with the prof because he or she may have a lot of students (and grad students) who want their attention. You’ll be one of many.
-if you don’t understand something in class, it can be hard to ask questions in front of a big crowd if you are at all shy or to ask a follow up question if you think the response you get is insufficient
-you can pick a professor by reputation (or ratings), but in a large class, you will probably have a TA for your section. There is little or no information on how good your TA is and you may not have any choice in that. (Some TAs are great, some aren’t.)
-If you do a fabulous job in the class, your TA will know it, but it’s not necessarily the case that the prof knows (or cares)</p>
<p>There are pluses:
-if you miss a class, no one knows or cares
-some people prefer to hear the expert (the prof) speaking, rather than listening to his or her peers discuss something (especially if they aren’t well-prepared for class)
-a TA can give you personal attention and insight into what being a grad student is like if you develop a relationship
-if you aren’t shy, asking questions in front of a crowd is no big deal</p>