Class size at UVA and William and Mary? VA tech?

[Anonymous]

Intro classes are large by nature. They are weed out classes and separate the boys from the men. If you can "survive" a class with 150 peers and deal with the anonymity (although you can always reach out to prof. if you take the initiative so you're more than just a number...) than you show maturity and independence...not everything in life needs to be individualized with hand-holding.

As others noted, labs and major-specific classes are smaller , but that can vary too. If you major in a common subject like Political Sci verse a Russian Lit than your core class sizes will vary no matter what.

As a VT grad, I do have to say I was surprised how many classes were online teach-yourself type class. The math classes come to mind as an example. TAs were available for tutoring and exams were at a centralized comp. ctr. The pro to online though is that it is so flexible and available 24/7.

[Anonymous]

W&M alum here. Intro classes were fairly large in Chem and bio but all other classes were small...like 20 or so.

But it's very intense there and there are lots of competitive students. It was harder material than in my professional school. Think about all the TJ students you know crammed together in a small, fake historical town. I loved it and met my DH the but it's not for everyone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you have or recently had a DC at one of these schools, can you comment on class sizes, especially for intro classes such as Econ, Chem, and/or Bio? Having attended an SLAC, class size is the main downside I see to sending DC to one of these instate schools, despite the attractive price tag. I know the upper level classes can be small, but I have heard about enormous classes (300-400) even at W&M (DC's top choice). Would appreciate any real world info. Thanks.

DD transferred from VT to JMU this year. Her chief gripe was class size and anonymity. Which is weird because her classes at JMU sound just as big.

DS went to W&M...surprisingly the first year classes there can be quite large.

I am the original VT poster.. this is very strange to me. JMU is smaller in every way than VT and more often the opposite happens for students when they transfer.

I find this puzzling as well. DC is a freshman at JMU and has only one large class, and it's a core requirement that all freshmen have to take. All other classes are roughly 20-30 students.

For what it's worth, rising DS sophomore at GM took two core courses this summer just to get them out of the way: Basic Western Civ and another Core English course. One class had 8 students in it, the second 4 registered student and 4 adults auditing. I was very surprised. So if you have a kid who is fearing an upcoming tough course or wants to get some classes out of the way, think summer school

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:W&M alum here. Intro classes were fairly large in Chem and bio but all other classes were small...like 20 or so.

But it's very intense there and there are lots of competitive students. It was harder material than in my professional school. Think about all the TJ students you know crammed together in a small, fake historical town. I loved it and met my DH the but it's not for everyone.

Agree. That school will challenge the heck out of you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you have or recently had a DC at one of these schools, can you comment on class sizes, especially for intro classes such as Econ, Chem, and/or Bio? Having attended an SLAC, class size is the main downside I see to sending DC to one of these instate schools, despite the attractive price tag. I know the upper level classes can be small, but I have heard about enormous classes (300-400) even at W&M (DC's top choice). Would appreciate any real world info. Thanks.

DD transferred from VT to JMU this year. Her chief gripe was class size and anonymity. Which is weird because her classes at JMU sound just as big.

DS went to W&M...surprisingly the first year classes there can be quite large.

I am the original VT poster.. this is very strange to me. JMU is smaller in every way than VT and more often the opposite happens for students when they transfer.

I find this puzzling as well. DC is a freshman at JMU and has only one large class, and it's a core requirement that all freshmen have to take. All other classes are roughly 20-30 students.

For what it's worth, rising DS sophomore at GM took two core courses this summer just to get them out of the way: Basic Western Civ and another Core English course. One class had 8 students in it, the second 4 registered student and 4 adults auditing. I was very surprised. So if you have a kid who is fearing an upcoming tough course or wants to get some classes out of the way, think summer school

General management (GM) like MGMT 101?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:W&M alum here. Intro classes were fairly large in Chem and bio but all other classes were small...like 20 or so.

But it's very intense there and there are lots of competitive students. It was harder material than in my professional school. Think about all the TJ students you know crammed together in a small, fake historical town. I loved it and met my DH the but it's not for everyone.

Thanks for this - having just visited Williamsburg, this gave me a chuckle.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:W&M alum here. Intro classes were fairly large in Chem and bio but all other classes were small...like 20 or so.

But it's very intense there and there are lots of competitive students. It was harder material than in my professional school. Think about all the TJ students you know crammed together in a small, fake historical town. I loved it and met my DH the but it's not for everyone.

Thanks for this - having just visited Williamsburg, this gave me a chuckle.

being FROM Williamsburg this made me laugh out loud and tell my family.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:W&M alum here. Intro classes were fairly large in Chem and bio but all other classes were small...like 20 or so.

But it's very intense there and there are lots of competitive students. It was harder material than in my professional school. Think about all the TJ students you know crammed together in a small, fake historical town. I loved it and met my DH the but it's not for everyone.

Thanks for this - having just visited Williamsburg, this gave me a chuckle.

being FROM Williamsburg this made me laugh out loud and tell my family.

You are welcome! I'm now craving a Hot Holly.