<p>I understand that class size isn’t (and shouldn’t be) equally important to everyone. However, many people (rightly or wrongly) do consider this an important factor in choosing a college. When people ask whether it’s worth it to pay a big price premium for an Ivy if the alternative is a “public Ivy”, what are they concerned about? The biggest concern after cost no doubt is career outcomes (or prestige, as it relates to employment). The “big classes” issue probably follows fairly closely behind for many students and parents. Students admitted to both an Ivy and a public Ivy more often choose to attend the Ivy (presumably, in most cases, despite higher cost). So it’s worth decomposing the perceived differences to see if they have a rational basis.</p>
<p>Actually, what I take away from this discussion (and my own searches) is that average class size probably should NOT matter very much in this choice. The typical pre-med or econ major is going to sit through some pretty large classes whether at an Ivy or at a public Ivy. At either one, smaller sections taught by TAs will complement big lectures taught by professors. Whether the lectures have 150 or 450 students, they’re still lectures. </p>
<p>This is one reason I tend to prefer LACs, especially for students who say they are very interested in getting a doctorate. Based on my own arithmetic against NSF and CDS data (“trust but verify” :)), a biology/life science major at Carleton, Reed, or Swarthmore is about 3x-4x more likely to complete a doctorate in bio/ls as a biology/ls major at Berkeley or Michigan. The delta between those LACs and the Ivies is a little smaller. I suspect (can’t prove) that this is partly attributable to a higher level of student-faculty engagement at LACs, which leaves many students more motivated and prepared for creative academic work. Whether that’s really true or not, I just happen to prefer a smaller comunity.</p>
<p>However, if you’re a prospective computer science, engineering, or business major, or pre-med … or if private school would leave you in major debt … I think the first school almost any good student should be looking at is the in-state flagship (especially if your state has one of the “public Ivies”.)</p>