Hi, I’m currently a sophomore in high school and will be graduating in the year 2022. I know that since I’m more of an introverted person and generally not outspoken in class, I’ll probably need to apply to a college with a smaller class size so I can hopefully make the most of class sessions. The only university I’ve heard of that might fit the bill is CalTECH - is that true? And does anyone have any suggestions? Thanks!!
Undergraduate-focused schools such as Harvey Mudd, Swarthmore and Carleton might better match this description. Do you have a particular interest within STEM through which you could refine your enquiry?
Hmmm. I’m not sure exactly, but I’m more interested in computer science or some form of engineering, not so much in the pure sciences or the medical field.
I haven’t yet taken the SAT, but my self-assessment is that I’m not a totally outstanding student (like top 5% or whatnot) but I can hope to get into a prestigious school. My PSAT score was high, 1490, but I don’t have impressive extracurriculars and I don’t know how I will write my application essay.
Just gonna add that I might be interested in digital marketing too. 
Harvey Mudd’s introductory CS course has about 200 students. Swarthmore is running into CS department capacity, so it is rationing CS courses for CS majors.
The popularity of CS these days can mean larger CS classes or limitations on getting into classes or the CS major.
You might like some of the UAA schools, such as the University of Rochester, @kukido004.
Thanks! Will look into it. What does UAA stand for, by the way?
Good point. This may be outside the original topic, but would you say there are more STEM schools on the East or West Coast?
To be honest, I’m still a beginner at this whole college search thing. I don’t know much about these schools or their programs! Will research.
Rice is very much undergraduate focused, and has a low student:faculty ratio. While many think of them for pre-med, the reality is that it is strong in many areas.
Engineering majors and CS (the interests you mentioned) are rather commonly offered. I wouldn’t be surprised if the more densely populated east coast had more colleges overall and with your desired majors.
UAA represents University Athletic Association, @kukido004.
If a class is lecture format with very little need for discussion, it doesn’t really matter if there are 20 people listening to the lecture or 200. Most larger classes (the 100+ ones) have discussion sessions or office hours to get questions answered. Students at Michigan or Cal or UCLA seem to make those 500+ lecture courses work.
I also think it is nice to have a few classes where you can just fade into the background if you want to. I felt claustrophobic at some of the small schools we looked at and there weren’t as many classes offered. My daughter at a flagship had 2-3 classes in the 100+ size, but most of her classes for upper level classes were limited to 24.
wow, thanks! Another one to add to my research laundry list 
[quote="ucbalumnus;c-22544160"Engineering majors and CS (the interests you mentioned) are rather commonly offered. I wouldn’t be surprised if the more densely populated east coast had more colleges overall and with your desired majors.
[/quote]
Haha, okay. In hindsight, I should have seen that :lol:
Ohhh I see. Well, I can learn something new every day! Thanks for the info
Good point about the lecture format and office hours. I heard that some universities are thinking of/have been recording lectures and uploading them so that students who prefer not to attend a crowded lecture hall or can’t take notes in real-time can watch lectures on their own time.
And your point about smaller schools offering less classes could well be true for many of them, so I’ll be mindful of that! I’m actually currently enrolled in a small high school (average graduating class of 10, I estimate) myself, and my entire grade pretty much will take all of the same classes. Thanks for all the info
I think you will find that no matter where you go, intro courses will be larger but class size dramatically decreases as you get more into your major. Many schools have small recitation classes that pair with the large lectures so you have a 20 person or so class size for discussion, Q&A, and test prep that meets weekly.
Wow, I’d not heard about the small paired classes. I’m still such a newbie! Thanks for the info
Cart is way ahead of the horse here. You have a whole bunch of, em, dubious, assumptions built into your post:
Not really. Lots of students are introverted and quiet in class in HS- and blossom in college in ways they never imagined (that was my physics collegekid). Or they don’t and they still do fine. And much as I hate the stereotype, it is true that STEM fields are blessed with a lot of introverts- you will find plenty of fellow travelers, amongst both students and faculty.
Um. no. CalTech is not the only “prestigious STEM university with relatively small classes”- and it is exceptionally competitive for admissions. CalTech accepts ~6% of applicants, and is known for the high stats of the student body: The average score for accepted students on the Math 2 subject test (which is required) is 800-800 (it’s a little lower for Chem, Physics and Bio, which each average 760-800). So, a serious reach for any student.
The great thing is that you are thinking about this now, with lots of time to do some research. Some suggestions:
=> You ask about “STEM universities”. There are very few universities that are only / dominantly STEM, but lots of colleges and universities that are every bit as strong in STEM. And, for most students the better LACs will also give a seriously strong STEM experience- and might suit your desire for smaller classes better.
=> You mention CS or some kind of engineering- or digital marketing, which you won’t find at a STEM university. Use the next year and a half to explore your interests further. If you aren’t completely sure that you want only CS or Engineering, consider looking at schools that will let you continue to explore your interests.
=> Think more about what “prestigious” means to you: what do you consider a prestigious school? what is important to you about prestige- impressing family/friends/teachers? getting into grad school? something else? How does where you go to college relate to your ideas of what you want to do post-college?
=> Ask your parents about finances now: what can your family afford? that will shape your choices a lot.
=> Start at the bottom when building your possible college list: places that you can afford and that you are sure to get into. It’s easy to fall in love with ‘prestigious’ names- but you need choices that you can be happy about even if it’s not your first choice.
=> Allow your list of possible colleges to grow and change from now until September Senior year. You will be growing and changing and learning more about you and what suits you.
Good luck…and come on back next year when you are farther along in the process!
haha thanks. I think I should’ve worded it better, actually, sorry about that! I meant to say “of the prestigious STEM universities I’ve heard of”. By no means do I mean that CalTECH is the only one existing that has small classes! :lol: And yes, I totally agree about the reach. :neutral:
Like you said, I definitely need to further explore my interests. Your post gave me a lot of good tips and points, and I’m grateful that you took the time and effort to write it all out.
I’m really just getting started on the college path, and I hope it’s not too late to do something that will make me stand out to colleges. I’ve learnt a lot of information here on the forum today so thanks all
To be honest, I’ve always envisioned going to high school, getting these great grades, going to some amazing college, then getting a job at some big tech company and an apartment in a city. Vague and maybe unrealistic, but that was my “dream”. I guess at the moment, my main reason for wanting to go to a “prestigious” school is that it may help me get a good job in the future, since I’ve heard from people coming from overseas little-known universities with decades of work experience about their struggles to get hired over a fresh graduate from a big and prestigious college here in the US. Now, I can see that this may not be true for everyone, but their story has just always stuck with me.
And about the rest of your post and your tips - thank you for the reality check. I think I needed that. I will definitely try to consider everything that has been said while building my college list!
Some colleges have on line class schedules that show class sizes. Where available, they are more reliable than anecdotes posted here or average class size numbers that can mislead.
Good news: CS and most kinds of engineering have great job prospects from a very wide range of schools. Obviously, I don’t know the details of the stories you have heard, but factors that can hinder internationals from getting positions can include citizenship, language skills, relevance of experience, relevance of training, various preconceptions etc. If you are a US citizen/green card holder, an engineering degree from your State U can get you to a great job.
This is great advice from MIT admissions:
Rice is a small school, about 4000 undergrads, that has very strong STEM classes. The student to teacher ratio is 6:1 and most classes are fairly small. Some freshman year intro lecture classes are larger, but Rice breaks those down in to smaller groups too. Rice gives students flexibility in choosing a major. It has excellent computer science and engineering courses. https://admission.rice.edu/apply
For small class sizes you should also consider the honors colleges contained within large state universities. Many of those offer the same small classes one might expect in an LAC, but with all of the engineering options that are available at large institutions.
In general you should also consider where you want to live when you graduate. Going to a school that is a feeder into the local industry you eventually want to live is a big advantage for getting a job in that location. For example, If you wanted to work in Dallas than UT Dallas is generally a better choice than more “prestigious” universities that are located hundreds of miles away. (For engineers, institutional prestige often doesn’t matter as much as it does in fields like finance.) If you want to be an engineer in Oklahoma, the University of Oklahoma is a pretty good path to getting you there.
That aspect doesn’t get discussed as much here on CC, but there is a definite local advantage in fields like engineering. The state flagship in the locality you want to eventually live is often one of the best and most underrated choices.
Edit: I’m editing to add that I’m not an engineer, I’m only pointing out what engineers have told me. If an engineer here disagrees with my opinion I would defer to their judgement.