Deciding on a College Size

Have you ever really stopped to think about the different sizes available in colleges today? Some colleges are so small physically that there is only one small office in a downtown building, even though they have over 10,000 students enrolled—everything is online. Other colleges have become so large that they have essentially become a small town or city unto themselves complete with a police force and fire department. Since schools come in so many different shapes and sizes, how does a person go about deciding on a college size that is right for them?

While size can quite easily be one of the single largest factors in helping a prospective student decide on which college to attend, it should not be the only factor that they use. Use these helpful guidelines to help you evaluate whether or not a college is the right size for you.

• Home town. How large is the town that you come from? Are you going to be comfortable going to a large school where the student population is only a small fraction of the total population? Just because you might think you are going to be comfortable, does not mean that you are going to be comfortable. Take some time (say, several days) to see if you are going to be truly comfortable in the town setting.
• High school. The size of your high school is also going to help you decide on the college or university that you end up attending. Are you used to large numbers of students and activities, or was it a smaller school? Making the transition from a small high school to large college or university, or even making the transition from a large high school to a small college, can be a huge culture shock to the unprepared.
• Student-to-teacher ratio. When looking at the size of a school, probably the one thing that should be looked at more than any other is the student-to-teacher ratio. How many students are there in comparison to the teachers? The reason for this is simple, in that the lower the ratio—meaning the closer the numbers are—then the more likely you can get one-on-one time with the professors as needed. This type of help is going to be invaluable latter on in your academic career.
• Class size. Are the classes small enough that you won't feel like just another face in the crowd? Similar to the student-to-teacher ratio, this aspect is going to help you in the long run. The reason for this is that even though the student-to-teacher ration might be small, the class size could still be large. Audit a few classes or ask the admissions office what the average class size is.
• Department size. Take a look at the size of the departments in the school. Is the department concerned with your program of study large enough to handle the needs of the students and to help you achieve your education? Department size does not just refer to the number of teachers or professors, but also the number of teaching assistants, secretaries, and various other types of support personnel.