Larger colleges typically have larger classes, but larger classes have both pros and cons. Larger classes have fewer class participation requirements, which works well for shy students or those who simply prefer lecture courses. Larger classes also mean, however, less direct interaction between instructor and individual student, and students may find themselves feeling like a number instead of a name. Additionally, large colleges rely more often on teaching assistants to teach classes rather than tenured professors.
Larger colleges generally have more extracurricular activities to choose from than smaller colleges. Larger colleges have the budget to sponsor a wider range of activities as well as activities that cost more money to start and maintain. For this reasons, certain sports, like football, tend to appear at large colleges but not at small colleges. On the other hand, students at smaller colleges have a better chance at breaking into the club or activity of their choice while clubs at larger colleges sometimes prove more selective.
Students at larger colleges generally have greater opportunities to meet people because larger colleges generally have more events. On the other hand, larger colleges often carry more social distractions, and a student lacking in self-discipline may run into problems with her studies as a result. Students at smaller colleges run into the same people more often than they would at a larger college, thereby forming close bonds with other students at a quicker pace. However, news spreads quickly on a small campus, such as gossip.
In one sense, large colleges have greater academic variety because they typically have more majors for students to choose from. Small colleges typically offer the basic majors, like English, Psychology and Art, and only one or two specialty majors, like Digital Media Arts. Small colleges have a greater tendency to work with students to tailor-fit their major to their interests, however, while students at large colleges simply make do with a major's set requirements as listed in the college handbook.
Most big colleges have a greater number of physical resources for students to use than the average small school. Large colleges typically have larger libraries stocked with more books. Students of small colleges, however, have a greater chance of relying on their professors as a resource and for advice. Professors at small colleges know their students by name more often than professors at big schools, who have more faces to recognize and more tasks unrelated to their students to perform.