Impressions on Attending a Small College
By Jessica Maes
In conversation with a student at my school recently, the student said: I wonder if I should transfer. This caught me by surprise because I love attending the University of Wisconsin – Green Bay. But it’s a fair question, especially when early in the college experience. As a parent of an undergraduate, I know of many people who are early in their college career and have discovered, or are discovering, that the college they chose back in high school is, in reality, not a good fit for them.
As my peer and I continued to talk about this, it turns out that they too love UWGB and the feelings were more due to FOMO (fear of missing out) and FOPO (fear of other people’s opinion) than anything else. The main issue for this student was: ould there be more opportunity for me at a bigger school? Based on my opinion, the answer is “no”. Based on a responsible weighing of the question, the answer is “it depends”. It’s all about fit, and determining fit deserves a post all of its own. In the mean time, here are 10 of my impressions of attending a small college, in no particular order:
Less hectic. From the parking lots to the residence halls to the hallways – less people is almost always going to equate to less hectic.
It can be easier to get into the classes you want. Regardless of the size of the school, a student has to be proactive and register as soon as they can register, but again, less people vying for spots in a cllass typically increases the liklihood of getting a spot in a class when you want/need it.
Smaller class sizes. Generally speaking, class sizes are smaller at a small school. However, always read the fine print. There is a small college I’m familiar with that advertises small class sizes, but then takes all of the sections of a class and ultimately puts them all together. On paper you have enrolled in a course with 15 people in it and the reality is there are 60-75 people in the room and vying for the professors’s attention. On the other hand, a class with 60 people is still much smaller than classes at large universities.
More access to professors. Smaller class sizes means less students vying for a professor’s attention in class and during office hours. Additionally, smaller schools usually have less teaching assistants (TAs) teaching classes.
More access to advisors. Less students means less people vying for the attention of their advisor(s).
More access to resources. Less crowds at the rec center, the wellness center, the learning center, scholarship opportunities, internship opportunities, clubs, study abroad opportunities and more.
Easier to meet people. I was talking to a peer recently who told me that their friends who went to large universities made far less new friends than friends who went to smaller schools. This initially seemed backwards to me: more people, more people to meet. Easier is the key word here. It can be intimidating trying to make new friends in a large environment.
More networking opportunities. Again, this seems backwards: More alum, more networking opportunities. However, more people vying for spots at networking opportunities can make the endeavor more challenging.
Easier to get graduate in 4 years. Again, all students have to do their best to declare their major as early as possible to they spend their time taking the most useful courses to finish in 4 years or less. However, there are certain programs at large universities that simply can’t get students into the classes they need to graduate at a pace to get them out in 4 years.
Job opportunities. This is often tied to the strength of the alumni network or the number of schools in the community than the size of the school, however, because there is easier access to so many of the things that go into getting ready for the workforce at smaller schools, it could be argued that there are more job opportunities for graduates of a small college.
It’s important to note that small school/big school is never the only thing that will determine a good fit. But it’s an important consideration because the two experiences can be very different.
Jessica is a first-year master’s student in the Sport, Exercise, & Performance Psychology program at the University of Wisconsin – Green Bay. She earned a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Wisconsin – Parkside and is currently a Writing Tutor at The Learning Center at UWGB. She is also certified as a grant writer from the University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire and from Learn Grant Writing. Connect with Jessica on LinkedIn.
