Class Size

[jmillski]

Exactly how important is class size? Is smaller class size necessarily important in medical school like it might have been in undergrad? Maybe more one on one time with professors, but even then, will that matter when deciding between a school with 100 seats and one with 180 seats?

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[235009]

good question

i went to a small HS with ~100 kids per grade and then a huge university with ~1300 per class year. there was of course a huge difference between the two situations but i'm not sure if there would really be much of a difference between ~100 per class and ~180 per class....or is there?

 

[chad5871]

I went to two high schools. The first one (I completed my freshman and senior years there) had a class size of about 325. The second one (I completed my sophomore and junior years there) had a class size of about 1250. I honestly couldn't tell much of a difference except that I knew a smaller percentage of my fellow classmates.

If we're talking about a class size of 30 vs. a class size of 180, that's obviously going to be a big difference. But 100 vs. 180 probably won't make much of a difference to the student.

 

[ChubbyChaser]

It might be important to some, but I dont think you should base your decision on class size, considering medical school from what I hear is more sef-study.

With that being said...Im not sure id enjoy a huge class size like wayne state or jefferson with close to 300 students..but 30-40 people Like cleveland clinic is probably too small.

 

[Premed Worrier]

The only reason I can come up with is previously stated: more one on one time with the professor. But, (purely speculation) if there are smaller classes there are probably less faculty dedicated to the medical school, meaning each faculty member has more responsibilities, so more one on one time may not actually be true. With this being said I am going for smaller class size if I have a feasible option. Good Luck.

 

[chad5871]

I also feel that, no matter where you end up, you're going to have your core group of 4 or 5 close friends. Whether you have 100 other classmates or 180 other classmates around you isn't going to make much of a difference.

 

[chad5871]

The only reason I can come up with is previously stated: more one on one time with the professor. But, (purely speculation) if there are smaller classes there are probably less faculty dedicated to the medical school, meaning each faculty member has more responsibilities, so more one on one time may not actually be true. With this being said I am going for smaller class size if I have a feasible option. Good Luck.

Student:faculty ratio is something that should be considered in conjunction with class size.

 

[mmmcdowe]

I also did the small high school to enormous undergrad deal. I personally have not found there to be a difference in one on one time with profs/teachers. Its what you make of it. I've been to plenty of office hours where I was the only student there (you have to go during non-exam weeks of course). If I've wanted a prof to know who I was, I've never had a problem doing it. I think there are advantages to having a small and a large class. Smaller classes, by necessity, are probably a little more close knit. On the other hand, larger classes offer more diversity and potential to meet interesting people (statistically at least). Both diversity and community are important to me, so I'll be happy at either scenario.

 

[silverlining1]

Something else you should consider is the amount of small-group time and how big those small groups are. (I don't really know what scenarios would get you one-on-one time with profs... mentoring? Research? I guess.) At my school, even though we have 134 students (+ we have a bunch of classes with pharm students), our small groups range from 6-12 people, and we have these pretty much at least once a week. (They're usually 6 when we discuss patient interviewing or medical ethics, and up to 12 when we're going over respiratory physiology calculations.)

Aside from this, I totally agree that 100 vs 180 doesn't really matter. What matters more is how happy the current students are. I have a friend at a school with less than 100 students, but she feels like it is cliquey and not cohesive at all. However, I feel like my class is pretty tight and everyone is friendly towards each other, regardless of our typical "clique".

 

[diosa428]

Class size isn't really that big of a deal in the first two years. You're not going to require personal attention from your lecturers, and if you have a question you'll just shoot them an email. There are no office hours and they're probably going to be too busy to meet with you one on one. There are often multiple lecturers (most people only give one or a few lectures total, almost no one gives >10) so it's not like you're going to need to sit down and talk with someone anyway, since the information will be shared among multiple people.

When it might matter is in the clinical years. Find out how many students there are per team. If a school has 300 students and has to put 3+ students with one resident, that's going to be a problem. If a school has 300 students and enough hospitals to spread the students out, it's less of an issue.

 

[Med Addict]

For me personally, I want to have a larger class size so that I can study independent of the professors and I don't want to have the professors constantly breathing down my back. Independent studying is so much more efficient than having some professor instructing you on the theoretics of medicine, which need to be memorized anyways and having a higher professor:student ratio won't help.

 

[CCLCMer]

Exactly how important is class size? Is smaller class size necessarily important in medical school like it might have been in undergrad? Maybe more one on one time with professors, but even then, will that matter when deciding between a school with 100 seats and one with 180 seats?

It's really a matter of personal preference. My class only has 32 students, and that was one of the strengths for me. But as you can see from the other posts, there are plenty of people who prefer a larger class where you can be a little invisible. You definitely would not be invisible at CCLCM. This is not the kind of program for you if you want to stay home and watch your lectures at 2x speed online in your pajamas. It's also not the right place for you if you want to sit in the back of the lecture hall and just listen. During the first two years, we are expected to attend seminars and PBL. We are expected to participate. In return, we have profs and docs who know us all by name and face. We ask our questions in person, not shoot an email to some lecturer who has no idea who we are. Again, that has both pros and cons. There are probably times when we all have wished we could be a little less visible. It can be a little bit like living in a small town where everyone knows your business sometimes, even when you would prefer they didn't. But it's also very comfortable to have faculty, staff and other students stop and say hi to you everywhere you go in the hospital. It is great to have an advisor who picked me up at home on a Friday night because we thought I had appendicitis, then stayed with me in the ED all night to make sure I would be ok.

Ultimately, the importance of class size depends on you and the kind of medical school experience you want. Going with a small class size was the right choice for me, but other people will feel the exact opposite. Good luck with your apps.