College: Does Size Matter?
Big. Medium. Small. Colleges and universities come in all different shapes and sizes. Picking out the right college is like finding that perfect pair of jeans. You know that those jeans won’t fit anyone the way that they fit you. To find a college for you, you’ve got to do some shopping.
Photo by Fensterbme
Ohio State or Xavier? 53,000 or 4,000? Have you ever asked yourself if you want to be a big fish in a small pond? Or a small fish in a big pond? Size played a huge role in my decision to pursue the University of Rhode Island. I didn’t want a school where I knew everyone by first and last name but I also didn’t want a school where I was just another face in the crowd. With 15,000 students, URI was the perfect fit for me. It’s big enough that on game day there’s tons of fans in the stand but small enough to get involved on campus and stand out amongst your peers. Medium. That’s my perfect size. What’s yours?
There’s advantages and disadvantages to both large and small universities. Let’s look at some.
Large Colleges/Universities
- Pros
- Larger campus
- More people to meet and network with
- Greek life tends to be more popular
- A wide variety of classes and clubs/organizations
- There’s always something going on
- Sports and sporting events attract more people
- Cons
- Larger class sizes
- More lecture halls
- Longer walk to class
- Harder to “stand out in the crowd”
- More competitive
- High student to teacher ratio
Small Colleges/Universities
- Pros
- Smaller, less crowded, small class sizes
- A more specific/specialized curriculum
- The ability to form closer relationships with people
- Small student to teacher ratio
- Shorter walk to class
- Easier to “stand out in the crowd”
- Cons
- Smaller campus
- Decreased interest in sporting events and Greek life
- Could potentially be too much like high school
- Less classes offered
Often times, these pros and cons can be interchangeable depending on the person. It’s possible that a smaller campus can be an advantage to someone who doesn’t want to hike up hills to get to class. It’s all about preference. It’s all about finding your perfect pair of jeans.
For example, Penn State University has an enrollment of about 45,000 students. Each year, they hold a charity event, MaraTHON, which helps children overcome cancer. In 2008, the students of Penn State helped to raise 6.6 million dollars. HOW AWESOME IS THAT?! At a smaller college, it might be difficult to hold an event like that. But on the flip side, there’s no way you’re getting across the Penn State campus in less than 15 minutes (I’ve tried!). So the answer to the question “Does size matter?” is NO, it’s how you choose to use it!
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