Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It depends on your kid. I went to a big state school. They expect you to be an adult from Day 1. No one is reaching out to check on you. You have a counselor you can meet with to discuss classes, etc. but you have to set the meeting. If you don’t do that, they aren’t going to follow up. If you miss class, no one is going to follow up. It’s a great environment with amazing opportunities, but you have to drive things yourself. If you kid isn’t good at that or is used to being coddled, it might not be the right fit.

You assume it’s not the same at smaller schools? My kid’s Ivy is cutthroat. Not the coddling stereotype people have of it here. The kid was in the hospital and still got no deadline leeway. You definitely need to be used to sink or swim- but he came from a private HS that was like this from day 1 of freshmen year. Parents had zero access to canvas, etc, no-retakes or extended deadlines and I never spoke to a single teacher or administrator all 4 years- so he was used to it.

Small does not automatically mean “coddling”. I also went to a big state university and did great. My roommate flunked out first semester—and that happens at every school big and small.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I went to a huge state school. i had opportunities for closer relationships in my upper level classes, I just didn't do it and that's on me. My current college students have both chosen midsize privates and I do love the size. I think there is a big misconception on handholding though. One of mine is at an Ivy and it was clear from the jump it was all on the kid as communications are nearly nonexistent to parents. I think size of school can help, but at the end of the day, it is on the student. No school is going to come looking for you.

Solid advice.

But at a smaller school, it is easier. My kids were assigned faculty advisors in their majors fall of freshman year, not just a random advisor like their friends at many different large state U. And yes, that advisor does check in more frequently than the ones at large State U (in my experience) It's part of what you are more likely to get from a smaller school. But it's still on the kid to do the work. It's just easier if you have the same advisor for 4 years (unless YOU want to switch) and to start with a meaningful advisor (ie faculty in your intended major)

DP. It sounds like you’re just making sweeping generalizations about schools you know nothing about. My DC attends a large state school and was given an advisor within her major the summer before freshman year even began. She has worked closely with that same advisor for four years now, and received excellent advice regarding which classes to take, etc.

+1

My advisor at an LAC was clueless & useless.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I went to a huge state school. i had opportunities for closer relationships in my upper level classes, I just didn't do it and that's on me. My current college students have both chosen midsize privates and I do love the size. I think there is a big misconception on handholding though. One of mine is at an Ivy and it was clear from the jump it was all on the kid as communications are nearly nonexistent to parents. I think size of school can help, but at the end of the day, it is on the student. No school is going to come looking for you.

Solid advice.

But at a smaller school, it is easier. My kids were assigned faculty advisors in their majors fall of freshman year, not just a random advisor like their friends at many different large state U. And yes, that advisor does check in more frequently than the ones at large State U (in my experience) It's part of what you are more likely to get from a smaller school. But it's still on the kid to do the work. It's just easier if you have the same advisor for 4 years (unless YOU want to switch) and to start with a meaningful advisor (ie faculty in your intended major)

DP. It sounds like you’re just making sweeping generalizations about schools you know nothing about. My DC attends a large state school and was given an advisor within her major the summer before freshman year even began. She has worked closely with that same advisor for four years now, and received excellent advice regarding which classes to take, etc.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I went to a huge state school. i had opportunities for closer relationships in my upper level classes, I just didn't do it and that's on me. My current college students have both chosen midsize privates and I do love the size. I think there is a big misconception on handholding though. One of mine is at an Ivy and it was clear from the jump it was all on the kid as communications are nearly nonexistent to parents. I think size of school can help, but at the end of the day, it is on the student. No school is going to come looking for you.

Solid advice.

But at a smaller school, it is easier. My kids were assigned faculty advisors in their majors fall of freshman year, not just a random advisor like their friends at many different large state U. And yes, that advisor does check in more frequently than the ones at large State U (in my experience) It's part of what you are more likely to get from a smaller school. But it's still on the kid to do the work. It's just easier if you have the same advisor for 4 years (unless YOU want to switch) and to start with a meaningful advisor (ie faculty in your intended major)

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I went to a huge state school. i had opportunities for closer relationships in my upper level classes, I just didn't do it and that's on me. My current college students have both chosen midsize privates and I do love the size. I think there is a big misconception on handholding though. One of mine is at an Ivy and it was clear from the jump it was all on the kid as communications are nearly nonexistent to parents. I think size of school can help, but at the end of the day, it is on the student. No school is going to come looking for you.

Solid advice.

But at a smaller school, it is easier. My kids were assigned faculty advisors in their majors fall of freshman year, not just a random advisor like their friends at many different large state U. And yes, that advisor does check in more frequently than the ones at large State U (in my experience) It's part of what you are more likely to get from a smaller school. But it's still on the kid to do the work. It's just easier if you have the same advisor for 4 years (unless YOU want to switch) and to start with a meaningful advisor (ie faculty in your intended major)

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Know and accept that you have a bias. You are most likely going to prefer - whatever college experience you had, whether a small LAC or large state school.

DH and I valued our large state school experience. So many options for majors, class sections, class times, different professors. No need to get a sign-off, convince a counselor if you wanted to change your major, drop a class, try-out a class in a very different subject just for fun. You charted your own course.

Ummm....many good large state schools have 75% of the majors as "impacted". So nope, you cannot just try a course, switch majors, etc.
At smaller schools (my kids are at 5-8K undergrads) it was much easier to change majors (2 of my 3 kids did so, one changed their major about 90 mins before registering for fall soph courses). It was very easy to take courses outside your major, switch your major, drop a class. The difference is before dropping a course you have to talk to your advisor/the dept coordinator for your major. Which is a good thing. They guide you and make sure you don't do something stupid---like dropping a course that takes you below "# of units required to keep your Financial aid"/etc. They help guide you to tutoring and extra help before you hit the point of needing to drop a course, because the goal is for you to succeed. An 18/19 yo needing a bitof assistance is not coddling, it's helping prepare them for life. In the real world good companies have mentors assigned to new hires to help guide them as well

Smaller schools have less majors than larger schools to choose from or switch to.

IMO, my youngest would do better in a smaller school academically, but socially, they would despise it.

My older goes to a large state school. They are doing great. They joined social clubs to make the school feel smaller. They have never needed academic hand holding. They have always been a straight A student (magnet HS and now in college). But, their advisor was terrible, and they did have to figure some things out on their own. Still, they've had some amazing internships (that paid very well).

There are plenty of schools in the 5K-10K range that offer most majors, just like your large state schools. We encouraged our kids to find the right size school for them (all 3 picked 5-8K range ultimatelY). We also encouraged them to pick schools that had lots of majors and more importantly that you could easily switch to those majors. The only limits were you had to be directly admitted to nursing at all the schools and cannot switch in, as the curriculums start fall freshman year, not to mention there are only so many spots for labs and clinical. Only other limits are one kid is at a school with top level music school (think conservatory level), and you cannot just decide to switch and become a music major, you have to audition and be admitted. Otherwise, my kids could switch to any major they wanted. Want to drop engineering and become a finance major, no problem (at many schools that is an issue). Want to add CS as a double major with engineering? No issues.

So while I"m sure there are a few random and unpopular majors that my kid's schools don't offer, they offer well over 100 at all of them and two of them offer 160+ (our state U with 30K undergrads only offers ~180).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Know and accept that you have a bias. You are most likely going to prefer - whatever college experience you had, whether a small LAC or large state school.

DH and I valued our large state school experience. So many options for majors, class sections, class times, different professors. No need to get a sign-off, convince a counselor if you wanted to change your major, drop a class, try-out a class in a very different subject just for fun. You charted your own course.

Ummm....many good large state schools have 75% of the majors as "impacted". So nope, you cannot just try a course, switch majors, etc.
At smaller schools (my kids are at 5-8K undergrads) it was much easier to change majors (2 of my 3 kids did so, one changed their major about 90 mins before registering for fall soph courses). It was very easy to take courses outside your major, switch your major, drop a class. The difference is before dropping a course you have to talk to your advisor/the dept coordinator for your major. Which is a good thing. They guide you and make sure you don't do something stupid---like dropping a course that takes you below "# of units required to keep your Financial aid"/etc. They help guide you to tutoring and extra help before you hit the point of needing to drop a course, because the goal is for you to succeed. An 18/19 yo needing a bitof assistance is not coddling, it's helping prepare them for life. In the real world good companies have mentors assigned to new hires to help guide them as well

Smaller schools have less majors than larger schools to choose from or switch to.

IMO, my youngest would do better in a smaller school academically, but socially, they would despise it.

My older goes to a large state school. They are doing great. They joined social clubs to make the school feel smaller. They have never needed academic hand holding. They have always been a straight A student (magnet HS and now in college). But, their advisor was terrible, and they did have to figure some things out on their own. Still, they've had some amazing internships (that paid very well).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I went to a huge state school. i had opportunities for closer relationships in my upper level classes, I just didn't do it and that's on me. My current college students have both chosen midsize privates and I do love the size. I think there is a big misconception on handholding though. One of mine is at an Ivy and it was clear from the jump it was all on the kid as communications are nearly nonexistent to parents. I think size of school can help, but at the end of the day, it is on the student. No school is going to come looking for you.

Solid advice.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Know and accept that you have a bias. You are most likely going to prefer - whatever college experience you had, whether a small LAC or large state school.

DH and I valued our large state school experience. So many options for majors, class sections, class times, different professors. No need to get a sign-off, convince a counselor if you wanted to change your major, drop a class, try-out a class in a very different subject just for fun. You charted your own course.

Ummm....many good large state schools have 75% of the majors as "impacted". So nope, you cannot just try a course, switch majors, etc.
At smaller schools (my kids are at 5-8K undergrads) it was much easier to change majors (2 of my 3 kids did so, one changed their major about 90 mins before registering for fall soph courses). It was very easy to take courses outside your major, switch your major, drop a class. The difference is before dropping a course you have to talk to your advisor/the dept coordinator for your major. Which is a good thing. They guide you and make sure you don't do something stupid---like dropping a course that takes you below "# of units required to keep your Financial aid"/etc. They help guide you to tutoring and extra help before you hit the point of needing to drop a course, because the goal is for you to succeed. An 18/19 yo needing a bitof assistance is not coddling, it's helping prepare them for life. In the real world good companies have mentors assigned to new hires to help guide them as well

DP. My kids attend different state schools. All have switched majors at least once and never had any issue doing so. Which schools are you referring to that have “75% of majors impacted”?

+1
Notice, the PP never came back to tell us which schools have all 75% impacted majors. What a lie.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would never let my kid go to a massive school where everything is overcrowded students are just a number.

I attended a SLAC and deeply regret it. I felt so stifled and bored, seeing the same people all the time, where everyone knew everyone else’s business. The small classes were so dull, with the same handful of people in each one - same with the paltry clubs.

My own kids wanted nothing to do with SLACs and chose large state schools where they have an abundance of activities to choose from - not to mention great depth and variety in their classes/majors. None have had a class bigger than about 50 people and most are around 30. One has a foreign language class with only ten people.

They are involved in academic organizations, study abroad, internships, and social activities (neither went Greek). I so wish I had chosen differently when I was their age, but my own parents inexplicably pushed me towards a small school. Now I see how much I missed!

Please identify the school, or I would am claiming bs on class size.

+1 Large state schools can be good but many classes have more than 50 people.

Usually a larger class will only be found in a freshman/101 course. Classes get much smaller as you go further into your major. I have a DC at VT and she has never had a class larger than 100 people, and that was only in her first year, taking a required course that many others had to take. She’s now a junior and her classes are nowhere near that size.

Anonymous wrote:Our DD didn't want a small or mid-size school after having been at a pretty small school through high school. She wanted a big school, and someplace academically excellent and also culturally rah-rah! She chose U Michigan and loves it. They do a good job helping students form smaller communities in the much larger environment, and she feels good getting to experience, and learning to navigate, a much larger community. I don't know how other large universities do at this, but she (and we) are very happy with U Michigan.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Know and accept that you have a bias. You are most likely going to prefer - whatever college experience you had, whether a small LAC or large state school.

DH and I valued our large state school experience. So many options for majors, class sections, class times, different professors. No need to get a sign-off, convince a counselor if you wanted to change your major, drop a class, try-out a class in a very different subject just for fun. You charted your own course.

Ummm....many good large state schools have 75% of the majors as "impacted". So nope, you cannot just try a course, switch majors, etc.
At smaller schools (my kids are at 5-8K undergrads) it was much easier to change majors (2 of my 3 kids did so, one changed their major about 90 mins before registering for fall soph courses). It was very easy to take courses outside your major, switch your major, drop a class. The difference is before dropping a course you have to talk to your advisor/the dept coordinator for your major. Which is a good thing. They guide you and make sure you don't do something stupid---like dropping a course that takes you below "# of units required to keep your Financial aid"/etc. They help guide you to tutoring and extra help before you hit the point of needing to drop a course, because the goal is for you to succeed. An 18/19 yo needing a bitof assistance is not coddling, it's helping prepare them for life. In the real world good companies have mentors assigned to new hires to help guide them as well

DP. My kids attend different state schools. All have switched majors at least once and never had any issue doing so. Which schools are you referring to that have “75% of majors impacted”?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would never let my kid go to a massive school where everything is overcrowded students are just a number.

I attended a SLAC and deeply regret it. I felt so stifled and bored, seeing the same people all the time, where everyone knew everyone else’s business. The small classes were so dull, with the same handful of people in each one - same with the paltry clubs.

My own kids wanted nothing to do with SLACs and chose large state schools where they have an abundance of activities to choose from - not to mention great depth and variety in their classes/majors. None have had a class bigger than about 50 people and most are around 30. One has a foreign language class with only ten people.

They are involved in academic organizations, study abroad, internships, and social activities (neither went Greek). I so wish I had chosen differently when I was their age, but my own parents inexplicably pushed me towards a small school. Now I see how much I missed!

Please identify the school, or I would am claiming bs on class size.

+1 Large state schools can be good but many classes have more than 50 people.