I’m talking about those colleges that are lower than 10,000 students, specifically between 1,000-5,000.
I really want to go to school in Chicago, and there are PLENTY of schools there, so it would be impossible for me not to get into one. But my problem is is that I don’t really want to go to one of the small ones like Lake Forest, Concordia, Elmhurst, etc. The truth is, however, I have no idea what these kinds of school are really like. I always imagined them as nothing more than glorified high schools due to the enrollment size, and are probably very cliquey.
I really want to start getting comfortable with the idea of a small college because there are so many of them and as of now my chicago school list is only DePaul and Loyola, of of which are VERY expensive.
So please, enlighten me on the true experience of small schools. And specifically, please try to answer these questions: Would I be overshadowed by big university kids in terms of employment? What high school demographic would you say funnels into these small schools? Every high school jerk that graduated this year seems to have gone to a community college, or a big university. And last, did you go to/are you enrolled at a small college/university? What kind of people do you think should consider a small school? I’m someone who is really big on sports, but I figure I can get my sports fix by going to a bulls game every once in a while.
Do a search on LACs vs. Universities or similar and you’ll get lots of threads that cover this issue. The bottom line is that there is no one type of person who goes to a small school (except people who want the small school experience). LACs are nothing like high school - visit one and see for yourself. Talk to some students who attend small schools to get their perspective. The impact on your employment prospects depends on what you are studying, what field you want to go into, and where you want to work rather than the size of the school. And students at small schools love sports too - many of them attend because they get to play on the teams rather than just watch.
" I always imagined them as nothing more than glorified high schools due to the enrollment size, and are probably very cliquey."
Unfortunately, from what I’ve seen this is most certainly the case.
Larger schools and smaller have cliques but the ones at larger schools include students who study work together.
In a smaller school it’s people that new each other in childhood.
The small I speaking of (Concordia College MN)has ~2,000 students and it doesn’t feel like a college at all but an expensive high school. Imagine awkward sheltered children pooled in together, taught by awkward students that grew into middle age that became professors.
Lacking diversity, recreation, qty. of job prospects etc.
The schools probably pray and hope to get as many of the local farm students as they can, so getting in is way easier but it lack proper administration and services.
for example you can’t take a class in whatever term you like they’re offered 1 a year, or a specific service or area may have set of hours that doesn’t work for your schedule.
Lake Forest and Elmhurst have different vibes.
In my opinion, Lake Forest’s semester in Chicago is a great aspect of the school - you get to have a small campus for several semesters then, when you are ready for an internship, you get to do it in Chicago on their “campus” there.
BTW, most Associate Colleges of the Midwest have a Chicago semester, too.
Go visit, spend a day, attend a class, see if you can do an overnight. You’ll see what you like and what you don’t like there.
Finally, before assuming costs, run the NPCs for all schools you’re considering!
The type/size of school that works for you really is all about personal preference. There is not one right answer for anyone.
I visited a number of LACs with my D and they really each have a different vibe so if you go that route it is important to find a good fit.
My S visited one LAC and felt it was too small for him. He ended up at a mid-sized university and it had a fantastic college experience.
My D wanted the intimacy of the LAC experience and has absolutely not been disappointed. Here are a few things she loves about her college experience…
–She found it very easy to become active in clubs/groups on campus and to get leadership roles as well.
–She has tons of different groups of friends and everyone seems to get along well. For example she is into theater and a number of football players do stage crew…so my science/theater daughter now has a group of football players as friends.
–The small classes are great and they are all taught by professors. She has had a couple of really small (5-10 student classes) taught by full professors and they have been amazing experiences. She has been (with some other students) to a couple of different professors’ homes for meals.
–Because there are no grad students to compete with she has done a great deal of research work with two different professors (she even gets paid for some of it). She enjoys and learns a ton from the research and I’m sure it will look great on grad school applications (plus the teachers writing the recommendations will know her extremely well).
And for sleepahead’s comment - I’m not sure what kind of LAC he/she may know of but my D has not one childhood friend at her LAC and has made a ton of friends. She has not seen cliques of HS friends as something that happens on her campus. Her other friends at top LACs have also not run into issues with cliques of childhood friends. I think that can be an issue for colleges that a ton of local kids attend. Ex. my S’s friend went to a mid-sized Catholic university in Phila and there were a ton of Phila. area kids there from various Catholic high schools and that particular university was very cliquey with pre-set HS groups. I think you want to asses the situation at schools that largely draw from one small area. Based on the experience of my D and her friends this is absolutely not the case for the top LACs.
Think about what is important to you. If you want a college with huge sports, then a LAC may not be a great fit.
Hey, I would say that it is really about what you want. I attend Spelman College in Atlanta, a women’s college, and I love the fact that it is small. It is not cliquish at all, and almost everyone knows everyone. because it is a liberal arts college, you take classes with a bunch of different people from different majors and different backgrounds. I personally love the fact that the classes are small, my biggest class was a lecture and a mandatory course for first years students and had about 50 students in it. also I feel like you get a more personal relationship with professors. About the employment question, I would say that the name of your school matters but also what you do of it. I am still in college so I wouldn’t know, but my sisters who have graduated went on to do great things, from Columbia to UC San Diego or working for big corporations, teaching or the U.S. government.
