MAKING A LARGE UNIVERSITY SMALL AND PERSONAL by Dodge Johnson, Educational Consultant
from his Philadelphia Inquirer Column "Countdown to College"
Big universities offer advantages most small colleges find hard to match.
Sheer size makes for a dazzling array of courses, majors, and facilities, as well as large libraries
and sophisticated equipment. Sheer numbers almost guarantee name recognition as
well as a huge pool of graduates eager to hire their own.
Many are self-contained cities of students glowing with excitement and humming with activity. Whoever
you are, somewhere you'll find congenial people. Whatever your interests,
you'll find groups to share them. Yet anonymity is as easy as turning a corner
or leaving a building by an unfamiliar door.
But bigness exacts a price – in bureaucracy and facelessness, in endless lines and deadlines.
Loneliness can be easy in huge high-rise dorms. And learning can be hard in
huge classes – far too big for professors to know and encourage you, to care
how you do.
On an educational assembly line, being a person instead of a social security number takes effort
and chutzpah. It means being a self-sufficient learner, a joiner – a scrounger
who finds a seat when others stand, a wheel that squeaks when there's not
enough grease to go around.
One secret of 'making it' is finding the crannies of smallness, of intimacy, where students get
attention and relationships are easy to nurture. Each university has its own,
but here are some likely places to look.
Explore honors programs. If you're bright and motivated, these can be a heaven of small
classes and of all-star students who truly want to learn. The University of
Delaware, for example, offers 100 honors 'sections' of regular courses, each
with about 20 students, taught by professors who line up for the privilege of
teaching them. Boston University's University Professor program lets top
students mix fields in a self-designed major. And special "core"
classes run about 15 students.
Most large university honors programs admit by class rank and SATs. But some, like
the Universities of Maryland and University of New Hampshire, care about more
than numbers. So if you're interested, admission is worth a try and a careful
application.
Look for fringe benefits. Syracuse encourages independent study and an honors thesis
– that's a faculty-student ratio of one to one. So does Penn State, which also
offers optional honors housing and front-of-the-line treatment for course
registration. And Rutgers pampers participants with scholarships, special
trips, outside speakers, and priority in housing.
Find colleges within Colleges. Some large universities have within them 'colleges'
for those who want an intimate experience as part of university life.
If the University of Toronto with 42,000 students sounds too big, consider one of
its colleges like St. Michael's with 2000 or Innes with 1000. If you're
applying to Miami University (OH), look into Western College, which houses a
few faculty as well as students – and where you can design your own program.
Ask about interest housing. Living with students who share an interest doesn't mean
that's all you talk about. But it's a way to make friends, and there's often
special programming. Indiana University (IN) students interested in the
humanities or an international experience should explore Collins or Foster
Living/Learning Centers. Michigan State's dorms include a wealth of interest
floors.
Explore uncrowded majors. The most popular fields – business, communications, psychology
– often have large classes, harried faculty, and stretched resources – all
enemies of quality and foes of the 'personal touch.'
But some first-rate departments will be uncrowded simply because they're less
popular, and real professors as vs. teaching assistants may have time to
lavish.
At Northwestern, for example, check out the integrated science program, which
enrolls 30 students a year. Try creative writing or natural resources at the
University of Michigan, art history or applied sciences at University of North
Carolina, anthropology or metropolitan studies (sociology of large cities) at
New York University.
Consider a sorority or fraternity. Yes, they're often the center of parties and
distraction, and most have left their original educational purposes far behind.
But they can also provide a home and an extended family, which is what being
'brothers' or 'sisters' is all about.
Involve yourself in campus life. The bigger the university, the greater the variety of
organized activities. No matter how unusual your interests may be , somebody
else will be interested too. Among the myriad activites at the University of
Michigan are Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, toastmasters, animal rights, a Gilbert and
Sullivan Society, women's boxing, and a Serbian students association.
Take a college job and get paid to learn how a university runs. Most offices will
treat you like a friend and professional.
Take a non-college job and meet home folks you would never have known otherwise. And
know that students who work part-time – say 10 hours a week – get better
grades.
Making the world of a big university your oyster means reaching out. If you thrive on personal
attention, small classes, and closeness to professors – if you wait for others
to make the first move or need the warmth of a close-knit community – you'll
probably be happiest in a small college.
But on any large campus, pockets of personalness are waiting for you to discover them. And with a little
resourcefulness, you can have the best of both worlds.
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