<p>PA and Pack Moms, I appreciate your reports of more positive experiences at big universities.</p>
<p>I must say that I personally also had positive experiences at a big university, but it was many moons ago and not as a freshman.</p>
<p>It depends on the kid's interest(s). DS went to a very large private university. BUT he had a major when he went in (and graduated IN that major). The department was smaller thus making that big school seem smaller. It did, however, give DS many many opportunities that he might not have found at a smaller university or LAC.</p>
<p>DD is going to a smaller school. It's where she felt most comfortable. She got accepted to a large flagship U with a terrific scholarship. She liked the school, but didn't feel like the personal connections would be there for her.</p>
<p>I should add that the largest class my son ever had was 40 students...and that was one of his core courses. DD's largest class was about 25. But neither of them had required courses like Psych 101 which almost EVERYONE has to take. Neither has ever been in a large lecture hall type of class.</p>
<p>I would just recommend that your daughter apply to a variety of schools, large and small, that she likes. Kids often grow and change dramatically in senior year. By the time April rolls around, she may have changed her preferences, and she may appreciate having a smaller school to consider. </p>
<p>I think you are asking a great question, and it boils down to the essential: Which school is right for my child? It's something that often gets pushed aside in the race to get into the "best" school.</p>
<p>I have had a very positive experience at a large university, but I would not recommend it for someone who is not self-motivated. Such schools usually don't have a policy of holding undergraduate's hands, and some students need that to succeed.</p>
<p>I went to a very large public and it was difficulty and alienating for me.</p>
<p>
[quote]
I would just recommend that your daughter apply to a variety of schools, large and small, that she likes.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>LurkNess, I agree with this advice.</p>
<p>I don't want DD to apply somewhere I wouldn't want her to attend, so I guess I am trying to figure out whether it would be a truly bad idea for D to be at a large university.</p>
<p>fendrock,</p>
<p>I agree with Northstarmom and would advise having her take one or two easy college courses as a senior. I also recommend you do what you can to find what your dd really likes. It's much easier to keep yourself motivated through college math or the subjunctive if you have a goal. </p>
<p>I might advise her to consider schools with some experiential programs like co-op or schools with good internship connections. There are also schools (I think USNWR calls them master's or baccalaureate) that award many of their degrees in vocational fields like business, teaching or nursing. If she's leaning toward such a field I would nudge her in that direction.</p>
<p>I also think that more undisciplined students should probably attend schools where there stats place them comfortably in the upper 50% of the student body. Nothing turns off a less enthusiastic student more than struggling to stay caught up.</p>
<p>When visiting campuses I always tried to find a large lecture hall and make my kids try sitting in the back to see what it will be like. My oldest didn't like the feeling and learned right then and there that he needed to get to class early to get a seat up front.</p>
<p>Kids can do very well at large schools if they have the knowledge and tools to navigate the system and advocate for themselves. We are helping my youngest acquire these skills before he heads off in August.</p>
<p>Two kids here at a large state university. They are both studying science/engineering, and I'm not sure that makes a difference- but I haven't heard reports of kids sleeping or texting through classes. They go to their teacher's office hours, and speak favorably of their professors. They also do not hesitate to contact profs with questions via email.</p>
<p>The big suggestion I have for kids attending large universities- GO TO YOUR PROF'S OFFICE HOURS. My oldest describes some of them almost as small group, personalized "classes". The prof will answer questions, review problems, go into greater detail on topics discussed in the lecture. All teachers are required to conduct office hours for the benefit of their students. Some teachers have office hours several days a week. GO to your profs office hours!! They are there, willing to meet you, willing to help. They might even offer hints as to what you might want to concentrate your studying on for the next test. ;) Take advantage of this wonderful resource...</p>
<p>fendrock--I am here to defend large public universities, and even to defend large classes. I went to our in state public university, even though my mother was on the warpath to send me to a small school. To me, the idea of a small school was suffocating. I was a complete slacker in high school--I barely graduated and got into the state flagship on the basis of my SATs (at the time there was a straight index and if your test scores x GPA hit a certain level you were in). </p>
<p>I was in three very big lecture classes, all taught by full professors. The lectures were amazing--these guys could really communicate and it was clear they were passionate about their subject matter. The smaller classes (math and English) were taught by grad assistants, but since the material was so basic I liked having somebody young who I could talk to about my writing or about my homework. They weren't intimidating.</p>
<p>I would caution you though that if your student is not terribly motivated and is set on a big school, there needs to be some discussion of value. If my kid wanted to go to a big state U, we have two perfectly good ones here so their choices would be in state only. I'm not going to pay an out of state premium for a B student to get basically the same experience that they could receive for far less money. </p>
<p>If you go in state and it doesn't work out, you haven't spent a small fortune. I would also set an expectation of what minimum level of academic performance you would require for your student to continue to receive your support. A friend of mine says 12 credits/3.0 GPA minimum, another said four years of support and that's it. Whatever you think the risks are you can set as the minimum progress necessary for you to continue to pay.</p>
<p>I went to a big state U and did just fine - although it was not the most invigorating intellectual experience (not sure I wanted that at the time anyway).
My s is at big state U and is also doing fine...but he HAS said that he really hates his large lecture hall classes. Thankfully, there are not many since he had so many AP credits going in and also takes a few honors classes each semester.
S is a VERY smart kid who generally likes to hang out with the "cool" kids (who are not necessarily the "smart" kids), play his guitar and participate in sports. I know he also parties quite a bit but he has been able to keep his GPA high. Not a real driver - even though he did accomplish quite a bit in high school. He LOVED the big school environment when we were looking but I'm not sure he fully understood the impact of big lecture hall classes.
Not sure what the answer is though because he told us he would be "bored to tears" in a small LAC environment. It really is hard to know what's best. Do what you can to help your child go in with their eyes wide open. Sitting in on classes is a great idea.</p>