i have decided...i am the opposite of hispanic
so for all of you who are still in high school and will be/are applying to college, be wary. "small class size" may seem attractive when compared with the prospect of sitting in a lecture hall of 300 people, but think about the implications of a 12:1 student to teacher ratio. do you really want the professor to know you personally? to remember not only your name but your current grade, how many times you've slept through their class, and the last question you answered incorrectly? if you didn't do the reading, or if you just forgot a few of the details, does a 90% possibility that you'll get called on to respond to a question that you have no idea how to answer appeal to you? i have for you an anecdote which may or may not be true to illustrate my point:
so it seems there was this guy. he's at a big school in a huge intro-to-something class. so there's this guy, in this gigantic class, and he's taking a test. this test involves a lot of writing, and the professor makes it clear that when he announces that class is over, everyone has to stop writing and turn in their tests. well this guy apparently thinks he's special or something and can defy the system, so he keeps writing after time is up. the professor tries to take his test away, but this guy is furiously writing and won't give it up. so the professor sits back down. after like half an hour, the guy finally gets up and begins to put his test on the stack with the others. but the professor won't let him, saying he went over the time limit and therefore his test won't be graded. after a minute of awkward silence, the guy asks, "professor, do you know my name?" now, this being a class of 300 people, the professor admits that he does not. so the guy starts to leave, but just as the professor looks away the guy runs back, shoves his test in the middle of the stack, and gets the hell out of there.
the point is, that wouldn't have worked in a small school with small classes. not that i'm advocating slacking off or testing professors' limits or anything. just think about what small class size really means. don't let the man manipulate you with his shiny brochures showing happy people learning and frolicking in the sunshine, because the weather is still going to be crappy half the time no matter where you go. anecdote is the courtesy of mr. prouty, who kicked ass.
...i think it is quite possible that i'm going insane.
so it seems there was this guy. he's at a big school in a huge intro-to-something class. so there's this guy, in this gigantic class, and he's taking a test. this test involves a lot of writing, and the professor makes it clear that when he announces that class is over, everyone has to stop writing and turn in their tests. well this guy apparently thinks he's special or something and can defy the system, so he keeps writing after time is up. the professor tries to take his test away, but this guy is furiously writing and won't give it up. so the professor sits back down. after like half an hour, the guy finally gets up and begins to put his test on the stack with the others. but the professor won't let him, saying he went over the time limit and therefore his test won't be graded. after a minute of awkward silence, the guy asks, "professor, do you know my name?" now, this being a class of 300 people, the professor admits that he does not. so the guy starts to leave, but just as the professor looks away the guy runs back, shoves his test in the middle of the stack, and gets the hell out of there.
the point is, that wouldn't have worked in a small school with small classes. not that i'm advocating slacking off or testing professors' limits or anything. just think about what small class size really means. don't let the man manipulate you with his shiny brochures showing happy people learning and frolicking in the sunshine, because the weather is still going to be crappy half the time no matter where you go. anecdote is the courtesy of mr. prouty, who kicked ass.
...i think it is quite possible that i'm going insane.