<p>Hi, one thing that's important to me in the college selection is a wide variety of classes to choose from (I either want to have an interdisciplinary major or design my own major drawing from different departments). I was wondering if, in general, a large research university or a smaller LAC would offer a wider breadth of courses to choose from. (research university's have more students but larger classes; smaller LACs have less students but smaller classes....) <em>If there isn't a general census on which would offer a wider range of courses, please add individual colleges in the New England/Mid-Atlantic area that have a wide range of courses if you know of any!</em>
Thanks so much.</p>
<p>I believe large Us have more options for classes. I’m not sure how open most Us are to self designed majors.</p>
<p>Large universities have more classes, but you should look instead for places with an open (or near open) curriculum. An LAC with an open curriculum could still be more flexible than a research university with a strict core curriculum.</p>
<p>I also recommend you look into some of the LAC consortiums if you want both small classes and a lot of class options. The five Claremont Colleges, the Amherst consortium, and the Swarthmore/Haverford/Bryn Mawr consortium all offer small classes with the ability to take classes at each of the other schools, so you get the best of both worlds. Notanenginner is correct in that you should also look for schools with flexible curriculums so that you actually have the ability to take the classes you want (Brown, Wesleyan, Amherst, etc). LACs are generally more flexible than larger universities in allowing you to design your own major, but it depends on the school.</p>
<p>Breadth/core/GE requirements should not impact a self-designed major, unless the self-designed major was unusually large in the number of courses specified. Most liberal arts (humanities, social studies, sciences) majors typically take up about 40% to 45% of one’s course work. Now, if you were self-designing an engineering major, or trying to do a double major, then a large amount of breadth/core/GE requirements might cramp the schedule.</p>
<p>Check each school’s policy on self-designed majors.</p>
<p>Large research universities may have greater opportunities to take graduate level courses than schools that are primarily undergraduate.</p>
<p>Many schools have on-line class schedules on their web sites. These often list the capacity of each class and how many students are enrolled in them. If class size is a concern, try looking at each school’s on-line class schedule.</p>
<p>For variety, large unis are going to win hands down, even compared to the consortiums - but how many classes do you actually have time to take? Try working out a sample schedule or two with the requirements of a couple of likely majors built in. If there are distribution requirements, add those in. And if you add a semester abroad on top of that, you are probably looking at fewer slots to fill than you think.</p>
<p>Thanks everyone for the responses.</p>
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<p>That is not necessarily an axiom. </p>
<p>The variety might exist in theory but not in practice, and this at both type of schools. Larger schools that appear to offer more choices also have more … potential takers. The question is about the opportunity for a student to take the classes he or she wants. The higher one goes in the curriculum, the harder to “get in” in certain becomes at many schools. Does it really matter is a class is offered three times with a capacity of 20 for each one when there are 150 students trying to take each quarter or semester? Or offered 5 times with 500 potential students? </p>
<p>Schools that tend to graduate most of their students in four years are keenly aware of the demands of their student body throughout the four years.</p>
<p>Lafayette College, a LAC of about 2400 undergrads, in Easton, PA offers a Bachelor of Arts (A.B.) degree in 34 fields, including engineering, and the Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in nine areas of science and four fields of engineering. You also may create your own interdisciplinary major, combining courses from several fields to achieve your educational goals.
[Departments</a> and Programs Academics Lafayette College](<a href=“http://www.lafayette.edu/academics/departments-and-programs/]Departments”>http://www.lafayette.edu/academics/departments-and-programs/)</p>
<p>Lafayette is also part of the Lehigh Valley Association of Independent Colleges, (LVAIC) whose members include Cedar Crest College, DeSales University, Lafayette College, Lehigh University, Moravian College and Muhlenberg College. Students enrolled at an LVAIC institution are eligible to cross register for courses at other member institutions.
[LVAIC</a> | Lehigh Valley Association of Independent Colleges](<a href=“http://www.lvaic.org/default.aspx]LVAIC”>http://www.lvaic.org/default.aspx)</p>