<p>Is there a diffence in quality of education?</p>
<p>Big college Professors= better reputation, more alumni networking</p>
<p>Small College professors= know students personally and aide them to achieve their goals</p>
<p>thoughts</p>
<p>All else being equal, I prefer the big ones. They tend to have a more commanding presence behind the lectern. That Robert Reich guy seems like he’d be pretty good, though :)</p>
<p>I worry that this will devolve into a “which is better?” thread, which will be inflammatory and unproductive. Whether a person prefers little college or big university teachers depends on their personality type and learning style.</p>
<p>You’ll like large university professors if:
- You have an auditory learning style
- You like to blend in
- You’re better at multiple choice tests than essays
- You don’t mind sitting still for long periods
- You would rather be “50 feet from brilliance than five feet from mediocrity”
- You don’t need a lot of personal attention
- You want to go from college to the workforce right away </p>
<p>You’ll like small college professors if:
- You have a quirkier learning style (visual, tactile, experiential, etc.)
- You like attention
- You often need extra help
- You like to stand out
- You like reading and writing
- You want to be prepared for graduate or professional school, where classes will be small and intense</p>
<p>Think about your experiences in high school. Do you like your 35-student English class or your 15-student science lab the best? Do you function well on your own or do you often want or need the teacher’s help and attention? Do you blush when the teacher calls on you or do you like being a big fish in a small pond? When the teacher gets in front of the class and monologues, are you engaged or are you bored? Do you dread class discussion or do you thrive on it? These are all important questions to ask yourself if you’re choosing between a small college and a big university.</p>
<p>"You would rather be “50 feet from brilliance than five feet from mediocrity”</p>
<p>Oh please. You don’t think there are mediocre professors at universities and brilliant onces at smaller schools?</p>
<p>^ I took that quote from a UC-Berkeley student. It does not represent my own opinions.</p>
<p>There are profs with the “personal touch” at both large and small.</p>
<p>My kids are at a large school. Their profs have hosted parties at their homes, have hosted dinners at their homes, have given the kids their cell phone numbers, etc. Their profs know their names and how they’re doing in class. </p>
<p>It’s all about “attitude” - you’re either a prof that cares or a prof that doesn’t.</p>
<p>D1 went to a small LAC where professors were hired foremost for their ability to teach.</p>
<p>D2 attends a huge research U where professors seem to have been hired more because of their accomplishments, many significant.</p>
<p>All the profs seem to care a lot.</p>
<p>
I must confess that is precisely what ran through my head when I saw the thread title. Most of my best professors have been at least average height.</p>
<p>Both will have faculty who care about their students and faculty who don’t. Perhaps a plus for the larger schools is the increased flexibility in selecting decent professors; Swarthmore might have one professor teaching advanced German while Illinois has four.</p>
<p>
…or can learn from reading a textbook.</p>
<p>Well, at Flagship State U, you’ll be a junior or senior before you actually meet a full professor. Otherwise, enjoy your graduate student instructor.</p>
<p>Something to ponder: my son graduated from a small LAC last May, on a return visit this weekend, he’s having dinner at the homes of two of his professors, meeting another for drinks and discussion at local pub. Let’s just see how many of those “big behind the lectern” profs at Penn State invite you over for dinner.</p>
<p>
Citations?</p>
<p>
Your kids should count themselves lucky. Attending a top public I never had contact with any prof in any manner whatsoever outside of office hours and the classroom.</p>
<p>Go on a college tour or ask your friends. For the most part, freshman courses at large unis are taught by graduate students or the very most junior profs.</p>
<p>Not all but most LAC’s even freshman classes are taught by professors. No grad students except perhaps as lab assistants.</p>
<p>My Quote:
My kids are at a large school. Their profs have hosted parties at their homes, have hosted dinners at their homes, have given the kids their cell phone numbers, etc. Their profs know their names and how they’re doing in class. </p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Yes, we’re all very happy with their university (which is why I recommend it so much her on CC 
) DS and classmates just went to their math prof’s home for dinner on Monday. The director to his honors program hosts a holiday party at his home every Dec. His philosophy prof had some get-together last year. </p>
<p>This isn’t really that unusual at their school. These profs answer emails from their Blackberries within a very short time, sometimes within minutes.</p>
<p>There is a self selection issue with large vs small school faculties. Most small school faculty are attracted to the job of teaching. If you are a researcher, you would be attracted to large schools.</p>
<p>^ Do you really think Harvard, Stanford, MIT and Princeton profs are hired for their teaching ability? All those could be classified as “small schools” esp. compared to larger state universities.</p>
<p>
Wow, admitting a Berkeley prof is “pretty good”, glad to see some of you are changing your thinking. How tall is Reich? He’s barely 5’, right?</p>
<p>This is absolutely accurate mom2college, thanks for saying it:</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>This is simply not true at all: </p>
<p>
</p>
<p>I teach at a giant research school, I’m a full chaired professor and I teach all levels, including introductory freshman courses. I know my students by name, my door is always open. Husband is also a prof. We have students often over for dinner. And we are not remotely special- it’s true of most of my colleagues. </p>
<p>Recently I asked colleagues in different departments to come talk to my undergraduates in a seminar-- every single one said “sure” and took an hour to come sit with them and answer questions. </p>
<p>I watched a lecture last night by Carl Weiman, Nobel Laureate in Physics. At a giant school by choice. Now investing heavily in research and technique on how to teach physics more effectively (which turns out to be a giant challenge, in large or small classrooms…its equally dismal). </p>
<p>As but another example, my highschool student has been contacting professors at large schools. Every single one has emailed back and engaged her. </p>
<p>I could go on and on and on but I know academia, and I get quite tired of the mythologies out there. I understand everyone has to justify their choices but these generalizations are not particularly meaningful down in the trenches, nor helpful to students looking for the right path. </p>
<p>I will concede that it can depend upon one’s major and the faculty or department one is in, but that is why its so critical to ignore these global judgments about large and small, and investigate what will be YOUR experience. And while it may take more initiative on the part of the student in a larger school, such a student that could cope in a LAC seminar should certainly have enough wherewithall to seek out a professor. </p>
<p>If you or your child went to a large school and you didn’t interact with the professors and they didn’t get to know you, it could have been ENTIRELY different if you had simply gone to their office. And there is giant value in learning initiative and seeking out opportunities. There are tons and tons and tons of such opportunities in big schools.</p>
<p>It’s not so much the size of the school but the size of the classes. Our DD at a huge research U has had some classes of around 15 students that she liked very much. There’s just less interaction in a lecture hall of 150.</p>
<p>I can’t help myself but I want to address a few other generalizations about big schools:</p>
<p>
In most schools some classes are large, some are small, especially as you move up in years. Most professors use powerpoint, some use clickers, and a variety of tools that moves even a large class to something that isn’t just auditory. Even in larger classrooms of 150 (anyone guess how big a typical MBA class is at Harvard and similar schools?), case discussions are extremely manageable. </p>
<p>
Or stand out. Students in large classrooms don’t like to put up their hand so much, and many don’t know to visit their professors. When such students do those things in a large school, professors are delighted and really get to know them. They stand out. </p>
<p>
Complete oversimplification. I don’t even know where to start with this one.I need a new thread.</p>
<p>
Whats this one about? Did I miss something? I think the class time in both LAC and big is about the same.</p>
<p>
Just silly. There are brilliant and dull minds in both places
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<p>
While bigger schools vs. LAC tend to have more professional programs- say nursing, or engineering- this is also a not useful generalization. One can make a great case for both LAC and bigger school if you want to go to graduate school and need research under your belt before doing so.</p>
<p>starbright -</p>
<p>Love your comments! I hope Happykid ends up where the faculty are like you!</p>
<p>OP-</p>
<p>To date I have taken classes at:
One highly selective LAC
One non-selective LAC
Two community colleges (different states)
One non-selective private U
Two Flagship public Us (different states)</p>
<p>I have had excellent learning experiences at all of these places. I also had marginal learning experiences at that highly selective LAC, the un-selective U, and one of the Flagship public Us. Through the years I’ve had good big classes, good small classes, bad big classes, and a couple of really dreadfully bad small classes! Overall, the goodness or badness of an individual course has depended on the individual instructor. Some of the very best were Teaching Assistants. To be honest, I still haven’t run into that apocryphal “bad teaching assistant” - unless of course it was me when I was a T.A.</p>
<p>College, like the rest of your life, is mostly what you make of it. You can have a successful experience wherever you end up.</p>