Student to faculty ratio

As an undergrad, I transferred from a school of 50K where I wasn’t doing well, to one of 3K where I thrived. The main difference was class size and direct access to professors. At the larger school, I routinely had classes of 300-500 students, and if you had questions, the protocol was to ask a TA (many of whom could barely speak English) before you asked a professor. That didn’t work for me. At the smaller school, my largest class was about 60 people, most classes were in the 20-30 student range, and my professors and I knew each other by name. The only time we had TAs was for a few intro-level biology class labs, and the TAs spoke English.

That doesn’t mean class size is an issue for everyone, or even the majority, but it’s ridiculous to proclaim outright that class size doesn’t matter, or that relationships with professors don’t matter.