Reply to Does class size matter at the college level?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I find these debates amusing. It seems like small class size advocates often have a bias against large universities and an idealized view of smaller schools. They imagine their kids having dinner and drinks with professors, engaging in weighty, esoteric discussions about literature or other profound topics.

For context, I attended a directional school with over 40,000 students, yet I often had classes with no more than 20 students. I was even invited to a professor's house for dinner and drinks.

I think many fans of SLACs struggle to grasp that not every class at a large university has 500 students. Once you realize that large public and private universities also offer smaller classes and access to professors, the main argument for choosing a SLAC or similar college starts to lose its weight. That may be an extreme statement, but I don’t think it’s far from the truth.[/quote]
LAC grad and no I don’t think any of this. Now, I actually did drink with professors and even celebrated holidays at their houses, but that’s another discussion. I really don’t think most top slacs at all depend on the record of small classes: Williams does for tutorial, Swat maybe for honors??? But, most lacs have a few “big” or medium sized lecture courses.

I do think this sub attaches personalities to people who hardly exist in the real world.[/quote]

Most top private universities do indeed encourage such out of class contacts with professors.  I went to Hopkins and there were regularly scheduled dinners, hikes, and other activities with professors that students could sign up for.  Harvard has funds dedicated for students to  invite their professors out for meals, and similar activities.  We’ve heard similar pitches at most of the top private colleges.[/quote]

The irony of this being that most tenured professors try to avoid the undergrads as much as possible.[/quote]

Sorry you had that experience, it wasn’t mine.[/quote]

Nope, not my experience, just know academia and academics. And especially for professors that are prominent in their field, undergrads are often an afterthought.[/quote]

Not your experience?  Say no more, I will feel free to ignore then.[/quote]

Interesting that you only listen to personal anecdotes. Not very intellectually rigorous of you.[/quote]
Dp but no one has linked any source that would indicate that anyone is operating on anything but personal anecdotes. [/quote]

Nothing wrong with an anecdote, just weird to solely rely on them. If you’ve been to grad school or know professors well (outside of being a student), you know that undergrads are usually low on their priority list, that’s all. Research, conferences/talks, grad students, administration and leadership roles all take precedence.[/quote]
Wouldn’t know, went to an lac with no grad students, and the professors came explicitly to work with undergrads.[/quote]

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