Our Counselors Answered:
What are the pros and cons of a small campus?
Reecy ArestyCollege Admissions/Financial Aid Expert & AuthorPayless For College, Inc.
What are the pros and cons of a small campus?
Easier to navigate, you’ll have a better one on one experience with the provost on down, smaller classes, those who excel will be a big fish in a little pond, rather than being lost in the shuffle on a 50,000 campus w/50,000 students.
On the other hand, there may be limited classes in your major(s), possibly no Greek life, not enough of the opposite sex to choose from, unless you’re near a large metropolitan city, limited off campus or even on campus housing, and a host of other disappointments depending on your like & dislikes.
Ronald Harris
What are the pros and cons of a small campus?
Small College Pros:
* Small class sizes
* Hands-on learning opportunities
* Individually-designed majors
* Strong advising system; advisors know students very well
* Strong sense of community
* Professors, not graduate students, teach most courses
* Opportunity to get to know professors well
* Many belong to a consortium of other small colleges who share resources (i.e. libraries)
* Individualized attention = more (personalized) opportunities
* Closer “networking” opportunities
* Everyone knows each other
Small College Cons:
* Limited housing options
* Fewer majors to choose from
* Fewer physical resources
* Smaller libraries
* Fewer entertainment and social opportunities
* Hard to escape “the bubble” in more isolated areas
* Less emphasis on sports programs
* Less people to “network” with
* Everyone knows each other
Large University Pros:
* Wide variety of majors and courses
* Well-stocked libraries
* Variety of housing opportunities
* Well-funded sports programs
* Wide range of academic and social opportunities
* Easy to escape the “bubble”
* Many “networking” opportunities
* Many alumni
* Distinguished or famous faculty
Large University Cons:
* Large class sizes
* Many courses taught by teaching assistants, not professors
* Professors focused on their own research and graduate thesis projects—little student-teacher interaction
* Pressure on students to take initiative; to be go-getters
* You have to make people work with you if you want something
* More rules and procedures related to enrolling in and designing course study—red tape
* Potential of getting lost in the crowd
Rohit GoyalIvy League CounselorHarvard University
What are the pros and cons of a small campus?
Knowing your mates would be easy while also not tiring down navigating in a huge campus. Always a chance to stand out and be popular in a small campus. While cons can be high concentration of buildings and facilities in a limited space. Less students means less diversity. Limited free space.