OT Small College Vs Big College

[samantha says]

I go to class at a school of 28,000+ and I don't feel like just a number. No matter what school you go to, it's up to you on how your going to make your experience. You can go to the largest school and the country and find a way for every professor to know your name or you can go to the smallest school in the country and no one even recognize you. It's up to YOU to decided how YOU want your college experience. I spend a lot of time in my professors offices during office hours and occasionally (you don't wanna be that girl that always has her hand up, then you just look dumb) asking questions during class. Also, in big lectures, I recommend sitting in the same general area everyday. Teachers will start to recognize you there if your sitting there everyday and that doesn't go unnoticed.

Things I love:
-Going to a large school and meeting people from all walks of life
-Going to an SEC school. Much like CheerKT, I'm obsessed with football.
-Every teacher (including my 2 classes of 200+ students) knows my name with my face. Use the office hours!! Those teachers are there to help you, that's why they make that time!
-Living in the south (haha)
-Having a student organization for anything you can possibly imagine
-Having an internship my very first semester in college
-Not having any 8ams!

Things I don't like:
Nothing! College is what you make of it and the attitude you go in with determines how successful you will ultimately be.

 

[ErinS]

I went to a medium ish college (7-8,000) and I loved it. You knew everybody, with out having to "know" everybody. It was a college town, close to a large city...no football but great basketball (qualified for the NCAA tourney 3 of 4 yrs I was there). I feel like as a student I was better prepared, and more independent in my school work. Professors were easily accessible. etc.... It was just a great experience in general.

Now...for grad school. I went to a big SEC school (I graduated Monday) and so I don't have a typical undergrad experience from this school but I will say that working as a GA in the library....these kids are just numbers, these kids can't perform basic research skills, these kids are handed busy work from professors (esp freshman) and nothing is really explained to them and everything is graded by TA's (who grade very unfairly in most cases)...It just made me so glad I opted not to go to this school for undergrad. You don't go to school just to go to football games.

 

[ikarlyyy]

i go to a pretty big school and i love it. regarding class sizes... it depends on the class. i've been in bio and psych lectures with 100+ students in them. i've also had a history class with over 100 students in the lecture, and then small recitation classes with the TA. but most of my classes have about 20-40 people in them. and again, there is free tutoring if needed and office hours.

 

[ShoWStoppeR]

well i grew up in a small town in the middle of nowhere, and went to a small school all my life. my senior class was 150, and we were the largest class they ever had. when i applied to schools, i had a variety in size and location too. part of me did it because i thought i wanted a change and i could handle a big school in a big city. wellll my mind changed, and im at a school that is very much like where i grew up. and i was nervous at first, but honestly i love it. my class sizes are perfect, im not overwhelmed by the size or worried about getting lost. legit, takes 10 minutes TOPS to walk across campus. do i sometimes wonder what it would be like at a big school? yeah. do i dream of still going to a d1 school? yeah. do i think it would make me happy? thats still open for debate....
pick a school based on what YOU want, and what will make YOU happy, and what best fits YOUR needs. you literally will have to write it down. i applied to 7 schools and thought it was alot.... i literally wrote down: what i was going to school for, if all the schools had the program, and it was accredited, and if they also had my grad program. what i was looking for in a school.... actually skipped that one because i didn't know. what i wanted, and what i needed. literally make a pros and cons list. it sounds like a pain, but when you lay it out side by side, it makes things easier.
i wish you the best of luck with you decision!
if you have any questions, feel free to ask!

 

[Emily Jane]

What would you all recommend for someone who can't visit any universities? I'm considering coming to America for college because I prefer the education system but there is no way I can afford to fly out and visit

 

[cheerKT]

What would you all recommend for someone who can't visit any universities? I'm considering coming to America for college because I prefer the education system but there is no way I can afford to fly out and visit

Oh that's a tough situation. Read up EVERYTHING on their websites, look at pictures, virtual tours, and talk to current students! They can usually give you a good feeling of what the school is really like, without giving you the tour guide version (where everything is perfect and happy. haha)

 

[ALittleBitTwisted]

What would you all recommend for someone who can't visit any universities? I'm considering coming to America for college because I prefer the education system but there is no way I can afford to fly out and visit

Along with what Katie said, don't hestitate to contact admissions as well with any questions you have. I think to narrow down a selection I would first think what you want to go to school for even if it's as specific as math/science-technology or liberal arts (english etc.) Then I would look into the type of area you are interested in! Just sort of go off of those to start. Have you heard of collegeboard?

 

[Emily Jane]

Along with what Katie said, don't hestitate to contact admissions as well with any questions you have. I think to narrow down a selection I would first think what you want to go to school for even if it's as specific as math/science-technology or liberal arts (english etc.) Then I would look into the type of area you are interested in! Just sort of go off of those to start. Have you heard of collegeboard?

Well I'm not sure what I would major in but it would probably be something like math, biology or economics and I would probably go somewhere in the Northeast (northern because it wouldn't be too hot during the summer and eastern because airfares would be cheaper). Do you know where I would be able to find rankings for colleges in those subjects? No, I haven't heard of collegeboard, what is it?

Thank you to you and Katie for helping!

 

[wcdad]

Here is an article that might help you.

http://www.forbes.com/2010/08/11/be...g-ranking-opinions-best-colleges-10_land.html

 

[dohnutt]

Well I'm not sure what I would major in but it would probably be something like math, biology or economics and I would probably go somewhere in the Northeast (northern because it wouldn't be too hot during the summer and eastern because airfares would be cheaper). Do you know where I would be able to find rankings for colleges in those subjects? No, I haven't heard of collegeboard, what is it?

Thank you to you and Katie for helping!

I definitely second what lauren and katie said! And collegeboard is basically a website..collegeboard.com..that you can input your grades/courses and look up colleges and it will tell you where you stand as far as getting admitted. It also tells you about the school and the programs they offer. When I used it, it basically told me anything I needed to know about the different colleges I was looking into. You would most definitely have to go more in depth since you are unable to actually visit the schools, but collegeboard is a huge help and a great place to start. I'm sure I missed some things, because it seems like forever ago that I used it (even though it was only a year lol) but if you have any questions or anything you can pm me! Good luck with your search!

 

[F!ERCE]

Depending where you're looking, you might find some helpful answers on the College Confidential forum. You might also be able to find someone around here who knows about a college you may be considering.

US News reports top schools in each field every year. Just google search it

 

[samantha says]

I went to a medium ish college (7-8,000) and I loved it. You knew everybody, with out having to "know" everybody. It was a college town, close to a large city...no football but great basketball (qualified for the NCAA tourney 3 of 4 yrs I was there). I feel like as a student I was better prepared, and more independent in my school work. Professors were easily accessible. etc.... It was just a great experience in general.

Now...for grad school. I went to a big SEC school (I graduated Monday) and so I don't have a typical undergrad experience from this school but I will say that working as a GA in the library....these kids are just numbers, these kids can't perform basic research skills, these kids are handed busy work from professors (esp freshman) and nothing is really explained to them and everything is graded by TA's (who grade very unfairly in most cases)...It just made me so glad I opted not to go to this school for undergrad. You don't go to school just to go to football games.

Let's make this clear. HeresAThought went to a big SEC school for grad school, but not undergrad. Also, just because this was his or her experience at this SEC school does not mean it will be the same at every SEC school. I can tell you this is NOT the case at Alabama. Rarely have I ever been handed busy work, actually almost never, and almost every grade I've had in every class has just been on a test (not always the best thing, but often is the case in college). I felt like my teachers explained things very clearly, and if they didn't they were easily accessible outside of the classroom. Not to mention only one of my classes had assignments graded by the TA, which by the way we only had about 3 assignments all semester. ALL teachers are there to help you succeed. They would not have gone through the trouble to become a college professor just to fail you. YOU show that you appreciate them and in return YOU will be appreciated by them. And HeresAThought is right, you don't just go to school to go to football games, but it sure helps. LOL

 

[ALittleBitTwisted]

Well I'm not sure what I would major in but it would probably be something like math, biology or economics and I would probably go somewhere in the Northeast (northern because it wouldn't be too hot during the summer and eastern because airfares would be cheaper). Do you know where I would be able to find rankings for colleges in those subjects? No, I haven't heard of collegeboard, what is it?

Thank you to you and Katie for helping!

Yay, Northeastern!! haha It is a wonderful tool that will help you literally find specific colleges based upon what you are looking for in a college. I definitely wouldn't make it your only tool, but it's a really great start! I live in northern VA--it's considered southern, but we actually have all 4 seasons equally! http://collegesearch.collegeboard.com/search/index.jsp This is the main link to the college search page. PM me if you have any questions, I'd be happy to help!

 

[ErinS]

Let's make this clear. HeresAThought went to a big SEC school for grad school, but not undergrad. Also, just because this was his or her experience at this SEC school does not mean it will be the same at every SEC school. I can tell you this is NOT the case at Alabama. Rarely have I ever been handed busy work, actually almost never, and almost every grade I've had in every class has just been on a test (not always the best thing, but often is the case in college). I felt like my teachers explained things very clearly, and if they didn't they were easily accessible outside of the classroom. Not to mention only one of my classes had assignments graded by the TA, which by the way we only had about 3 assignments all semester. ALL teachers are there to help you succeed. They would not have gone through the trouble to become a college professor just to fail you. YOU show that you appreciate them and in return YOU will be appreciated by them. And HeresAThought is right, you don't just go to school to go to football games, but it sure helps. LOL

I'm pretty certain that I say that since I went for grad school, I don't have the undergraduate experience. And on the contrary, just because that is your experience at Alabama, does not mean it will be the same at another SEC, or an ACC or a Big 10 school etc and etc...Athletic divisions have no bearing on what happens in the classroom and should never EVER be a determining factor in why you attend a college

However speaking as someone that will most likely have to work and has worked in an post secondary academic setting in a research and instructional position, I know from experience that at this particular large university (we will take athletic affiliation out of the equation) have let some students "fall thru the cracks" in some of their assignments.

I know that as a graduate student, many of my assignments were graded by TA's that were no more qualified than I was...I can only imagine what is happening in the undergrad sector.

 

[nycheer3]

I go to a small school about (1500) undergrads and I could not picture myself anywhere else. I love it! The biggest class I've ever had was 30. Without being at such a small school I defiantly think my grades would suffer. There are so many times when I really just did not want to go to class but I had to because my teacher would know I was not there and they have attendance policies. I also really like that I pretty much have seen everyone on campus before and I see them around school everyday. Obviously small schools are not for everyone but they are defiantly for me. And to make it even better I love that cheerleading is considered a sport there too so we have trainers at every practice and we get recognized as a sport by the entire school.