04/17/2001

Big Fish or Small Fish?

Q: It's a lifelong question, even in careers, but how do you decide whether to be a big fish in a little pond or a little fish in a big pond? We're contemplating this question now when trying to help our son decide which college to attend. He has been wait-listed at two Ivy League schools, and has been accepted at three excellent, large universities and one small one. He's caught up in the hype of the Ivy League, but also likes the fact that the other schools are "courting" him and really want him to attend. What do you advise?

A: You ask an excellent question and one many students stew about when applying to colleges. My niece applied to several Ivy League schools as well as large and small universities. Her first choice was Brown, to which she applied for "early decision." When she found out that she was wait-listed at Brown, she was disappointed but looked more seriously at the other choices. Even though she was later accepted at Brown and Yale, she turned them down for Williams, because staff and alumni there recruited her intensely. She like the smaller, more friendly atmosphere at Williams and felt that it would be a less competitive atmosphere and allow for closer connections to professors than she would find at some of the larger schools. She is a junior at Williams now and has not regretted her decision for a minute.

Our son, on the other hand, was turned down at two of his first choice schools and decided on Wesleyan, even though he was concerned that the student body might be too liberal politically for his tastes. After a year there, he loved the diversity in the student body and would now say that was one of the reasons he enjoyed his four years there so much, while also getting an excellent education.

Many students talk about their campus visits as being critical to their choices. For nearly every one with whom I have spoken, one or two colleges or universities just seemed like a good fit for their interests and personality. That is often a critical factor in making a college choice, because the academic programs are so good at so many schools.

Therefore, I advise you to take your son's lead on this one. Talk with him about his aspirations, his feelings about distance from home, size of school, athletic and other extracurricular interests and his impressions of each of the schools that have accepted or wait-listed him. You may even decide to make another round of campus visits before coming to a final decision. I think admissions officers would be open to such visits, because it is in their best interests to do what they can to help prospective and incoming students think through their choice carefully.

I can't emphasize how important it is for students to have a sense of attachment or belonging to their college or university, because such attitudes can have a direct bearing on their studies. One of our son's friends chose Columbia (not his first choice) and did well there academically, but hated it because there were so few trees. An urban setting just did not suit him. He dropped out after one year, took a year off and traveled. He then reapplied to colleges and attended a smaller college in a rural setting, loved it and completed his degree.

One consideration about small vs. large colleges is the availability of courses. Larger universities usually have more course offerings and fewer restrictions on the number of students who can attend each course, thus making most courses available to all students who enroll. This is not the case in many smaller schools. A friend of my son's, in his first semester of college, signed up for 8 different courses and was only accepted into one of them, leaving him scrambling for three additional courses to fill out his roster. When students have difficulty getting prerequisites for higher level courses, this can lead to delays in graduation (and another semester or two of tuition payments!)

The process of selecting a college or university can be frustrating but is also very exciting, because it marks such an important "passage" in life. Best of luck to students and families who are making these difficult but exciting choices.

Please send questions or comments to bbruno@snet.net.