With college applications hitting mailboxes nationwide, many high school seniors panic when deciding which type of university is the right fit for them. As a transfer student, I have had the opportunity to experience two, polar opposite colleges. While I started my education at Saint Joseph’s University — a medium sized, private, Jesuit university — I decided to make a transition to Rutgers University — a large, state university.
Having attended both types of schools, I feel that I am in a position to give advice to those struggling to find the perfect fit for their own needs. There are many aspects of a collegiate experience that seem to get brushed under the rug, but they should be considered while making your decision.
1. Actually being a student in class. Class size at private schools tends to be much smaller. A typical class will have 30 or fewer students. This means that attention is very focused on you and your presence is known. Not being in class is obvious and participation is generally a must. There are also usually more opportunities to get grades. A pro about this is that you are basically forced to go to class and get the education you enrolled for. Having a smaller class, the professor is able to give more quizzes, exams, and assignments. I know how dreadful that sounds, but it actually elevates major pressure off of the midterm and final exams because you have other grades to fall back on.
However, a downfall for some people may be that they feel like they are in a high school classroom setting where your teacher is on top of your every move. In contrast to a smaller school class size, state universities tend to have very large classes. The class size tends to narrow down the more into your major you get, however many general courses have classes sizes over 300 people. I know how intimating that may seem, but however most of the time you forget the other 299 people are in the room. It gives you a chance to just sit there, take your notes, and do your thing without anyone pointing what you say or do. It gives a student the challenge of going to class on their own and being their own boss to get stuff done. Your hand is definitely not held through a large class. For the student who hate participating, the larger the class, the happier you’ll be. However, it is important to keep in mind that because of the large class size you are less likely to have many opportunities to get a good grade for the course.
2. Making friends. I noticed that making friends in a smaller school is completely different than trying to make friendships in a large school. In a smaller university, you are most likely to see the same faces daily, giving an opportunity for one to get to really know the people in your surroundings. You typically will see the same people at the bars and parties you go to, eventually leading to a friendship. Also at a smaller school, it seems that everyone somewhat knows everyone. You are bound to have some type of mutual friend with the cute guy in your math class. In my opinion, the problem with this is that people may already have a false judgment on you due to the fact the university is so small. On the contrary, seeing the same people all the time allows for a much closer and meaningful relationship.
From my experiences at Rutgers, unless you are active in Greek life or associate with the same frats weekly, you are less likely to see the same people. I have met someone new basically everyday on campus. For a friendly person like myself, I enjoy that. Another major perk of making friends at a large school is that your life is completely irrelevant to those around you. What you do on Friday night, won’t impact you drastically on Saturday. You just go about life and do your own thing- judgment free.
3. Faculty-student relationships. As I mentioned, in smaller classes professors know you on a much more personal level. This can be great because they are more likely to catch where you may need extra help and willing to reach out to you. They can provide you with personal advice and perhaps career opportunities. But again, this may feel a little high school still where your professor is reminding you constantly to do your work, rather than you motivating yourself. At large universities, your teacher basically just considers you a number. If you want that relationship with a faculty member, you need to make your presence known. It is up to you to go to office hours for help or approach your professor after class. Since it is more difficult to establish relationship with your professor in this type of setting, they seem to be much more appreciative when you do. They genuinely are happy to see one student out of 600 go out of their way to make that extra effort. In my experiences, by going that extra step, I have made amazing relationships with my professors and it definitely enhanced my overall course grade.
4. Career networking. In both settings, career networking has been huge. At smaller schools, companies that tend to have alumni from there, recruit extremely well. Plus, they tend to put a lot of money in supporting the school. You find that many students end up at the same companies because of the close relationship the university forms with them. Large schools attract large career fairs because companies want to recruit for a diverse student. You are likely to see a wide variety of employers come out to a state university. Also, state schools are known nationwide. The larger the school, the larger the alumni, the larger amount of future employers there out there that have attended that university.
5. Partying. At a smaller school, of course there are fewer people so there are fewer opportunities to party. Academic wise, this is the best thing that could happen to you if you don’t feel obligated to go out 4 days a week. However, when there is a party, like I said you are surrounded by familiar faces. This can be a blessing or a curse. If you love being in an environment where you predominantly know everybody, this is your comfort zone. You are able to drink, dance, and party with all of your peers that you see every day. Unfortunately, if you make a complete fool out of yourself, basically your entire social network now knows.
At larger schools, there are parties almost every night. Like seriously, who knew Tuesday nights would be bigger than Fridays? Being at a school with thousands of people, there is plenty of opportunities to get out. Keep in mind though; the more people there, the less people you will probably know. Again another blessing or a curse. You can go and meet so many more people, but you are pretty much around strangers. There are the large college parties that are depicted all the time in movies, the ones where girls are advised to keep their hand on top of their cup. Some people find this to be ideal and totally awesome, for others it may not be their cup of tea (or beer in this case).
In both situations, I have been fortunate enough to have amazing experiences. I have formed, and am still forming great relationships with friends, professors, and future employers. I can promise anyone this: that no matter what route they decide, you will find something you will love. Everyone has a different taste of which type of experience they prefer. Hopefully, by sharing my experiences your decision making can be made easier. Good luck on your college search!
[Lead image via Aspen Photo/Shutterstock]
5 Things to Know When Deciding Between a Private School and a State University
