If you have to do it all over again, would you choose small school than T10?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My DD at T10 and quite happy. Specifically, she really likes the range of activities, classes, and social opportunities that comes with a school of some size. She said she likes that when she walks across campus, she’ll always be likely to see someone when she recognized, but she’s always meeting new people as well. What I hear over and over from parents of kids making these kinds of choices is that the transition to the small LAC can be easier than the larger school, the small nurturing environment can be comforting for an 18-year-old away from home, but by the time they hit junior year or so it can be sort of, claustrophobic. (Probably why so many kids go abroad for some or all of junior year) so it’s a situation where your kid has to know themselves.

"so many kids go abroad for some or all of junior year" because that is the year most kids are able to study abroad. Not because they are claustrophobic. That's the same for kids at SLAC or large state schools. It's just that a non-hard core STEM major has an easier time to study abroad so LAC tend to have more kids who go abroad in general---it just works with their major.

For my STEM/Engineering kid, they have only 3 locations to study abroad that will allow them to graduate in 4 years (not 5) with approved classes for fall of junior year to keep them on track. So my kid decided they didn't like the locations so not studying abroad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Depends what she most wants out of college. If she wants to pursue a PhD, I’d pick the small school. If she’s most excited by speakers, events, pomp, variety, then the big one.

That would likely be a mistake. https://www.highereddatastories.com/2023/10/undergraduate-institutions-of-doctoral.html. Bigger schools do just fine proficient PHDs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Depends what she most wants out of college. If she wants to pursue a PhD, I’d pick the small school. If she’s most excited by speakers, events, pomp, variety, then the big one.

That would likely be a mistake. https://www.highereddatastories.com/2023/10/undergraduate-institutions-of-doctoral.html. Bigger schools do just fine proficient PHDs.

Let me try that again. The T10 colleges are among the leading producers of PhDs despite being much smaller than the R1 publics that also dominate the list of undergraduate colleges producing the most PhDs. https://www.highereddatastories.com/2023/10/undergraduate-institutions-of-doctoral.html

[Anonymous]

Huh? I consider many T10 to be on the smaller side.

IMO--6k-7k is the best size. Too small and less types of clubs and intramural sports teams, and other amenities. Too big and too impersonal, trouble registering, etc.

My kid got into a few SLACS and I think the 1,900 total would be too limiting for him and is the size of his current HS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I went to a small school and regret it. It was good for the first two years and then felt very confining.

Oh come on. Just bc you go to a 30K-40K or whatever sized school does not mean that a small one is "confining." You don't interact with all those students but tend to congregate within a smaller subset or group anyway (or a couple of groups). I went to a school with >20K students and, even then, by the end of 4 years I was ready to move on. That's natural for a school of any size.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes. Finalists were Princeton, Amherst, Duke. Wish I'd chosen Amherst. Kid is going to a NESCAC and I'm living vicariously.

Did you go to Princeton? It’s pretty small still, but very cliched esp with the eating club scene.

[Anonymous]

At a SLAC, half of your class will be in recruited sports and basically only socialize with their team — so it can feel WAY smaller than advertised.

[Anonymous]

Mid-size schools (appx 4000-10000 undergrads) can provide all the intimacy, small classes, & personal attention as SLACs, without the claustrophobia.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:At a SLAC, half of your class will be in recruited sports and basically only socialize with their team — so it can feel WAY smaller than advertised.

You throw this around like its gospel. At many smaller schools, "half" your class are definitively NOT recruited athletes. Frankly, if you are that good in a sport (with the time commitment needed to practice and compete) AND still meet the rigorous academic requirements needed to be at a very competitive college which does not offer athletic scholarship, more power to you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I went to a small school and regret it. It was good for the first two years and then felt very confining.

+1. Same here. I had to get away, spent jr year abroad and sr year I was just so over the small school environment. Definitely wished I’d picked a larger school in retrospect.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At a SLAC, half of your class will be in recruited sports and basically only socialize with their team — so it can feel WAY smaller than advertised.

You throw this around like its gospel. At many smaller schools, "half" your class are definitively NOT recruited athletes. Frankly, if you are that good in a sport (with the time commitment needed to practice and compete) AND still meet the rigorous academic requirements needed to be at a very competitive college which does not offer athletic scholarship, more power to you.

okay, 40%

[Anonymous]

Fit is the most important. Some like smaller and some like larger

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I went to a small school and regret it. It was good for the first two years and then felt very confining.

Oh come on. Just bc you go to a 30K-40K or whatever sized school does not mean that a small one is "confining." You don't interact with all those students but tend to congregate within a smaller subset or group anyway (or a couple of groups). I went to a school with >20K students and, even then, by the end of 4 years I was ready to move on. That's natural for a school of any size.

That person is sharing their experience. They said that to them it felt confining. How can you argue w their feelings/opinions??

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Fit is the most important. Some like smaller and some like larger

Yep, only on DCUM is this point hotly debated!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I went to a small school and regret it. It was good for the first two years and then felt very confining.

Oh come on. Just bc you go to a 30K-40K or whatever sized school does not mean that a small one is "confining." You don't interact with all those students but tend to congregate within a smaller subset or group anyway (or a couple of groups). I went to a school with >20K students and, even then, by the end of 4 years I was ready to move on. That's natural for a school of any size.

Yes and at a very small LAC like the one I went to, it is harder to find the right group to interact w since there aren’t very many groups to choose from. Say you’re interested in activities A and B and C. At a small school there may be only one club/group for A, no clubs/groups for B, only one club/group for C. If you don’t happen to find friends in the one option for A and C, you are totally out of luck. At a large school there will be multiple groups/clubs for each of your interests so you’re more likely to find a group where you fit in.