With their small student populations, small colleges can offer significantly smaller classes than larger universities. Pomona College, ranked sixth among liberal arts colleges in 2010 by "U.S. News and World Report," has about 1,500 undergraduates and an average class size of 15. Wellesley College, an all-female liberal arts college, ranked fourth among liberal arts colleges by "U.S. News and World Report" and has an average class size of 17 to 20 students. Such small classes encourage closer relationships between students and faculty, and allow professors to devote more time and attention to individuals. Smaller classes also enable more group discussions.
Small colleges usually do not have graduate programs, which means that the schools' resources are available for undergraduates alone. At colleges with no graduate students, undergraduates can be sure that professors will be teaching each one of their classes, rather than graduate teaching assistants. Undergraduates at small colleges do not have to compete with graduate students for on-campus research opportunities or collaborations with professors, enabling them to gain more hands-on experience.
Many small colleges, such as Oberlin College and Amherst College, allow their students to design their own interdisciplinary majors, combining coursework in a variety of departments with independent study and research. Students might combine their interests in art, environmental studies and literature into one coherent research project.
Small colleges offer individualized academic advising to each student to help with navigating the curriculum and choosing a major. At Amherst College, for example, each incoming student is assigned a faculty advisor, usually the professor teaching her freshman seminar, who can help with academic concerns as well as the general transition to a new place.