Large University or Small University?

[dave44]

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In 1 more year, I will me transfering to a University. I have heard from many close physician friends of my family that going to a large University is not a wise thing to do, because they "try to fail you out" due to there being so many pre meds and only so few spots. I hear that smaller Universitys are the way to go.

What are your opinions? Also aren't there % cut offs for classes.(only a certain percent of the class with highest grades can get A's etc)

 

[Nikki2002]

oh god--small!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! stay away from large (universities). 🙂

 

[dajimmers]

Really a hard question for us to answer, as most of us don't have experience at both. I attend a large state univerisity, and have enjoyed the number of diverse options, students, classes, and other opportunities available to me. But, I also don't mind large classes (>400 students, even in some 400 level classes), and can study well on my own. There is more to do at a large school, I think, but it is harder to form relationships with faculty and really distinguish yourself, but it is possible.

 

[riceman04]

In 1 more year, I will me transfering to a University. I have heard from many close physician friends of my family that going to a large University is not a wise thing to do, because they "try to fail you out" due to there being so many pre meds and only so few spots. I hear that smaller Universitys are the way to go.

What are your opinions? Also aren't there % cut offs for classes.(only a certain percent of the class with highest grades can get A's etc)

Yeah that is true...but that does not mean you will have it easier at some of the more competitive smaller schools. The good thing, though, is that most of the time the profs are rooting for you (but will still fail you in an instant...at least that is how it was at my alma mater). They will give you the grade you deserve and will not give people who earned an 83 average for the class a C b/c it was below (or sometimes right around) the mean.

good luck!

 

[bdubz]

ever consider a mid-sized school? it's the best (and worst) of both worlds. Like from maybe 8000-15000 students. More likely to be privates, but some publics are this size too.

Definitely look at it on a school-by-school basis. It's hard to apply generalizations to a set of schools, every one is different. It all depends on your learning style. Once classes get above 50 people, it's basically the same as if the class has 200. (I even had a class with 500+ people, it was ridic, but no different than my other large classes). Different departments and even different profs within a department have different grading scales, so to generally apply anything to specific schools is hard as well. My advice; pick a school where you are most comfortable, and study what you like the most. The rest will fall into place.

 

[{:(]

I go to the Univ. of WA, a 40,000 + student school. It seems like a school of only 2000. I take all science classes and sit in the front row. Everyday I see the same people and meet with the same professors, but for some students who aren't as specialize, it is a different story. The best thing about UW is the boundless opportunities on and off campus that a small school could never offer. We have 28 language programs and study abroad programs in 42 countries on top of a continuous supply of research opportunities in all fields. Ask the school about its best qualities and then decide what is best for you.

 

[MahlerROCKS]

I go to the Univ. of WA, a 40,000 + student school. It seems like a school of only 2000. I take all science classes and sit in the front row. Everyday I see the same people and meet with the same professors, but for some students who aren't as specialize, it is a different story. The best thing about UW is the boundless opportunities on and off campus that a small school could never offer. We have 28 language programs and study abroad programs in 42 countries on top of a continuous supply of research opportunities in all fields. Ask the school about its best qualities and then decide what is best for you.

my school only has 1,500 students, and while we might not offer 28 languages, we do have a larger endowment 😛

 

[kalenakai]

What about a medium-sized university, like Stanford?

 

[{:(]

my school only has 1,500 students, and while we might not offer 28 languages, we do have a larger endowment 😛

Thats cool. My university definitely doesn't have everything. I think we are only ranked 45 on the national university list (which is meaningless and almost not worth saying).

 

[MahlerROCKS]

Thats cool. My university definitely doesn't have everything. I think we are only ranked 45 on the national university list (which is meaningless and almost not worth saying).

all schools have flaws, but as long as your happy, nothing else really matters

 

[DrMike24]

I go to a school with about 15k students. I guess thats about as midsized as they come. I have had a great time, know all of my professors well, have received great lors, etc. However, there are not as many interesting courses to take, perhaps not as many opportunities (but I think that depends on location. Mayo clinic near us has plenty of research and clinical opportunities). I know of several students who came to us from a huge school very close by...they say its much better because of the class size and teacher-student relationship. I think it mainly depends on you....you need to ask yourself what are you looking for?

 

[drgreeneatutk]

In 1 more year, I will me transfering to a University. I have heard from many close physician friends of my family that going to a large University is not a wise thing to do, because they "try to fail you out" due to there being so many pre meds and only so few spots. I hear that smaller Universitys are the way to go.

What are your opinions? Also aren't there % cut offs for classes.(only a certain percent of the class with highest grades can get A's etc)

Like everyone else has said it really depends on how you study and learn best and what you are looking for in a school. However, there are 20K ugrad students here at UT (knoxville) and I've had to work pretty hard to get to know any profs for LOR's and a TON of my instructors are so into "research mode" that they don't put alot of time or effort into their classes and students. If I had it to do over again I would definitely look more closely at smaller schools. I'm not saying I wouldn't have ended up here in the end, but I certinly would have put WAY more thought and searching when choosing my ugrad institution. I've can't speak for small colleges since I've never been to one, but there are definitely weed out classes here. Gen Chem is a weed out for pre-health and engineering majors (my freshman gen chem one class had ~350 students and about 50% of the class failed and that doesn't include the D's), of course orgainic chem (of course I'm not sure it's really used as a weed out as much as it's just a hard class no matter what, but they're certinly aren't afraid to fail you). As far as the grading go it's pretty teacher specific, but I have had a number of teachers that grade on a bell curve (meaning the mean is a C and every SD above and below is the next letter grade. This makes it very hard to make an A. It also means that you could have an 85% test average and still get a C, if that happens to be with in +/- one SD of the mean. However all the teachers that used the bell curve to grade their classes were classes where the averages were usually around 45-60% ie...hard classes). So there are most assuredly some cons to a big university.
On the other hand, like others have mentioned, there alot of pros as well. Any kind of major one may want, unique classes that you wont find at smaller schools, extra-cirriculars oppertunities out the wazzoo, research oppertinities, class diversity, and the most important of all...Division I-A football!!! Anyway, just have find what fits you the best.

 

[carn311]

I go to the Univ. of WA, a 40,000 + student school. It seems like a school of only 2000. I take all science classes and sit in the front row.

Sitting in the front row does help but only goes so far. A large school (at least in the case of my school) breeds lax students and lazy professors. Sure sitting up front makes the room feel smaller but it doesnt make the professor any less bad. I transfered to a large university from a small community college and while there are more opportunities (undergraduate research, etc...) I would not do it again.

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