I think any personality goes to both types of schools. My somewhat introverted son at big ten school has become more a self confidence student and has taken advantage of major opportunities. Loves 110,000 people at a football game and my out going but needs small classes girl loves going to professors homes for dinner. Loves the amount of depth she can discuss a subject in class and loves the individual attention she can get. Both have made amazing opportunities for themselves at their respected colleges. Both have close connections with certain professors.
I thought for sure my daughter would have like a smaller to mid size school but she was wowed by the resources and career services at the larger schools. She thought it was easier to âfind her peopleâ too. That said, I think honors college helps tremendously to give a more intimate feel within the larger campus. Best of both worlds for her and if I had known how awesome HC was going to be, I would have worried much less about her choice. Two of her classes have less than 20 students, she has weekly dinners with her favorite prof, and is getting to go on a honors study abroad in May. We knew about some of the perks of HC but itâs turned out to be a much richer experience than I expected.
@momofsenior1. You keep hearing about making a large university small. My son did this by forming his own student org with some kids at his school. This had taken off and now does stuff with his core group of 5 people with planning events /talks and then twice a month with 15-30 kids that all know him well. His campus is over 50,000 people. Once kids get involved with any part of school life they tend to âfind their Peepsâ as they say⊠>: 
Some students have an in-state public LAC, or would find some out-of-state public LACs (e.g. University of Minnesota - Morris or Truman State) affordable.
It wasnât so much my kidâs personality that he preferred LAC or LAC-like schools as the pedagogical preference with a strong emphasis on and institutional resources directed primarily at supporting undergrad education and experience. My kid could fit pretty much in any environment given his personality, but he likes having quality intellectual discussions in small groups, so he was attracted to the Oxford style tutorials at Williams and the Preceptorial methods at Princeton and other colleges with smaller teacher-to-student ratio with all courses taught directly by the faculty as opposed to grad students. When we were selecting for his college application list, these were some of the most important criteria that we looked at and those colleges that met the criteria were placed on top of his college list. Each kid has a set of certain preferences that are not necessarily attributed to personality. There are many others who undoubtedly prefer a larger institution that allows them to thrive. While my kidâs preference was LACs or LAC-like colleges, if things hadnât worked out to his preference and had to ultimately settle for a larger, research institution, Iâm sure heâd do just as well by adapting to the new environment.
My D applied only to large schools. She absolutely could not see herself at a small school/LAC. She attended a huge (>6,000 students) rah rah high school and was not interested in a school smaller than her high school or without that rah rah school spirit and big time sports. She also wanted more diversity than most LACs offer and prefers normal smart kids like herself to smart quirky kids. The type of social life she wanted is hard to find at an LAC. Class size wasnât important to her. Her classes are nonetheless quite small because sheâs in the honors program and her secondary major is tiny (all classes typically < 10 students). Her advisors are not overwhelmed and are very responsive.
She studied abroad in a program run by an LAC where she was the only public school student and she just did not click with them at all. So she has her validation.
I donât think itâs a difference of personality type. Youâll find all types of personalities at LACs, just as at larger universities. There are, however, some differences in personal preferences. Both of my daughters chose LACs because they wanted a somewhat more intimate educational setting, with closer relationships with their professors, where they knew and were known by most of their classmates, and where they felt they were part of a close-knit community. Some kids find that kind of atmosphere a bit suffocating, preferring the more wide-ranging open spaces and vibrancy of a larger academic community. Iâd venture to guess most kids could thrive in either type of environment, but many seem to favor one over the other.
My daughters also have a pretty strong social justice orientation, coupled with a pretty strong distaste for Greek life, which they associate with excessive partying and, for lack of a better word, misogyny among frat bros. They both found LACs that matched those preferences, but as suggested above, not all LACs are alike.
LACâs were not an option for either of my kids, an engineering major and a nursing student. No personality issues in play.
My kids both loved the larger private U they attended. It had the majors both wantedâengineering and cinema. It was a large U but the colleges they were in within the U were intimate enough for them.
Neither were particularly attracted to a small LAC â not sure why. Both have no regrets and have made some nice long term friendships in college, in their majors and other majors as well.
What I gather from the responses is that there is no personality difference but maybe how the students felt towards their high schools.
@websensation Interesting that you say that and it is likely true for some kids who reject a LAC because itâs smaller than their HS.
On the other hand, some kids donât apply to the state flagship in part because they feel it would be âtoo much like HSâ. Thatâs not about size but rather about a lot of kids from their HS going there. That seems to be a concern even for giant universities.
Our local HS sends a couple dozen seniors to the state flagship every year and honestly many DO wind up sharing dorms and houses and hanging out throughout college.
All of the personal attention can be achieved at the large Uâs. The biggest difference is likely the ability of the student to be independent and go after things without being spoon fed. The biggest personality difference may be the ability of the big school person to take the initiative more with so many more choices. Being ânurturedâ has never been a need in our family. Since the majority of students do end up at larger institutions (they must given numbers) those obviously also suit many students. They find their school within a school lifestyle just as big city dwellers are not uniform.
There is a personality difference for some- those who feel an LAC is too small, confining. What- 6000 students in a consortium??? Many students go their university by default- getting in, finances. I have not seen where LACs are for the independent, free thinking students who may be challenges to the schoolâs ways. The LACs seem to be for students who fit in, while big schools are where students can find their own minority peer group.
I also would question how valuable some of those small school experiences are when discussions will be among those who fit the school- no random insertion of the rebel who dissents with the way things are done. Plus professors who need to fit together in small departmentsâŠ
The personal attention can be achieved at the large Uâs, for certain personality types. But an LAC is an LAC for all students. My son likes his small LAC, where his classes are small and his professors know him. He would be lost at a big university.
I never did understand the argument that LACs are these great nurturing institutions where students are spoon fed. That was not my experience and not that of anyone I know who attended one. Weâre talking about adults, and all schools treat students like adults. Youâll find great advisors at both types of schools and bad ones at both types of schools. Youâll find big classes at LACs. Every class isnât small. All of my STEM classes were 50-100 students. Professors just arenât going to know every student well in a class that size.
I have nothing against LACs. I attended one and received a top-notch education. They are perfect for some students. But the misinformation about how they differ from larger schools and pedestal that people put them on as compared to larger schools just is not justified, imo.
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The biggest difference is likely the necessity of spending a lot of time and energy to get attention.
The biggest personality difference may be that the big school person must be assertive and work hard to get what the LAC kid takes for granted because it is the norm. Thus freeing up LAC kid for greater pursuits.
Or, big state school kids are surrounded mostly by kids from their own region (but not many very poor ones as most state schools canât offer great FA) and lose the exposure t kids from all over the country and world who attend national LACs.
I question how interesting a discussion is when most everyone comes from the same state.
My point here is, these differences can go both ways, be seen as advantages or disadvantages.
Most people I personally know who went to our flagship talk about their frustration due to class sizes, attention, bus rides across campus, long lines at office hours, TAs they canât understand, difficulty navigating bureaucracy and such. Mostly they say things dramatically improved once they got into junior and senior year seminar classes and found a mini-home in their major.
Clearly @wis75 had a completely different experience and that perhaps colors how SHE sees large Us. Weâre all going to see things from where we are.
I transferred out of my own LAC but it wasnât because there was no diversity of thought, or because I was spoon-fed anything. And while I enjoyed my higher level classes at the big U I later attended, I didnât enjoy dealing with the bureaucracy there either - long lines at the registrar and bursar offices and all that. I was older then though, and better able to advocate for myself than I would have at 18.
I do agree with the idea that many people go where they got in and it was most affordable. Itâs at least part of the reason I, and my D, chose the particular LACs we did, and also part of the reason S chose a small U. The state universities were not the cheapest options for us - that varies so much by state and by family finances.
In our state, perhaps uniquely in the US, there are a lot of LACs (and small private Us) and they compete with the state U system which is very large. Most of these smaller private schools offer merit/FA to match state U price (and some can do better than state). So kids do have to think about the differences, the advantages and disadvantages, if the cost is equal.
What I find amazing is how condescending some folks on here can be.
I have seen introverts gravitate towards bigger schools because itâs easier to become lost in the crowd and keep to yourself and not everyone knows you. Whereas, Iâve seen really outgoing people do really well at a small LAC because they like the fact that everyone knows everyone and classes are more discussion based and youâre really encouraged to get to know your professorsâŠbut to each their own!
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My two college aged kids looked at both and liked both. I think either one would be fine at the otherâs school!
Small LACs are not perfect and neither are large state universitiesâŠstudents have to work hard to find their niche. I know many successful people who went to big state schools and who went to small LACsâŠone isnât better then the other. And if a student has to spend more time getting to know their professors, oh well itâs not the end of the worldâŠ
I attended a large state flagship (Michigan) and my daughters both attended small, academically rigorous LACs. I disagree with the above statements 100%. My daughters are every bit as independent, free-thinking, and self-initiating as I am, as are their many college friends and classmates. Those traits are highly valued at LACs. And taking the initiative is required, both in coursework and in senior thesis requirements. Thereâs no âspoonfeedingâ; my daughtersâ LACs operate more or less as boot camps for serious, high-level graduate education. I think my daughters would also say the advantages of their LACs include less bureaucratic red tape to cut through if you want to do something that breaks the mold (and less bureaucratic red tape in general), and the institutions are quicker to respond to student demands and changes in student preferences in a supportive way.
I wouldnât trade my Michigan education and my overall experience there for anything. But in now teaching at another big flagship, I would observe that not all students here are independent, free-thinking self-starters, either. Some are just following the path of least resistance, meeting minimal requirements in a non-demanding major, and breaking a sweat only in the gym, on the dance floor, or in the bedroom. I think you can get a great education at pretty much any state flagship. But I also think you can get a pretty minimal education at most state flagships, and I think thatâs harder to do at most quality LACs because thereâs less opportunity for slackers to fade into anonymity. But no doubt there are some.