Big Schools or Small Schools?

               Choosing between big colleges and small colleges is one of the important choices you have to make before applying to colleges. There are advantages and disadvantages for both sizes. Small schools tend to have smaller school body and lower faculty to student ratio. This means that one professor does not have to deal with forty students in a class but about ten at a time.  When there are less people the professor has to be in charge of, the professor can spend more time with each student. Each student then can ask more questions and discuss for a longer time obtaining better understanding of the subjects being learned. This greatly helps the student prepare for graduate school and for places they have to work in. Also, it allows the students to get close to each other. Since there are fewer students in a class, they have more chance to get close to each other.  Also small schools are nice, because students can get to class at a faster rate. In a small school, buildings are clustered together unlike big schools. Because all the buildings are near, students can get from one class to another in few minutes.

              

Big schools usually provide more opportunities. Usually, they have more funding, and this allows them to set more programs for their students either for free for at a low price. In a big school, there are more varieties of club. There may be interesting clubs and useful clubs where students can get into, and this allows the students to interact with more people. Also, there are various courses offered to the students. After taking required courses, students may take courses that seem interesting to them as elective courses. Big schools are also nice, because it allows the students choose who they want to hang around with. In a small private school, students have to hang out with friends that they don’t even like. But in big schools, they have choice.

               I prefer big schools over small schools. Its diversity attracted me, but my desire to go to a place totally different from where I live, Saipan, heavily influenced my choice. I’ve been stuck in an isolated, undeveloped island for 8 years, and I really wanted to get away from this place. There is absolutely nothing to do here. All schools are small here, and the island itself is small. There are no places to hang around with, and there are not many people to interact with as much as the states.  Also, big schools have more and bigger libraries that have more variety of sources. Saipan is a very limited place. When I wanted to find a book about a topic I wanted to write about, I almost never succeeded. I had to order the book from a website or read an e-book.  Saipan was nice, because it is multi-cultural. This is why I prefer big schools. Big schools tend to have more diverse school body, and I love mixing in with people from different background. It allows me to understand the cultures of other countries and I think that it will widen my thinking and help me greatly in my life. I also like big schools, because they are usually located in or near cities. After living in Saipan for 8 years, I started abominating rural places. I want to live in urban cities as much as I can. I want to live in cities, away from places like Saipan.