Large universities better than the smaller

To all of you who are reading this article, we would like to applaud you-no, not for contributing to the loyal Daily Campus following, but for your decision to attend UConn. We all know that this choice was preceded by the painful procedure of college searching with the folks, spending countless hours in the writing lab perfecting that application essay and getting the privilege of knowing the inside of your guidance counselor's office better than your own bedroom. However, all of the agony led you to a great choice, not only is UConn a large, public university with endless opportunities, it is also one of the top ten public schools on the east coast. Small colleges can and do look rather tempting on those shiny brochures. With a student faculty ratio that you can count on two hands, who could resist? However, don't let these lofty statistics and scenic photographs staring you in the face blind you. There are so many apparent and hidden reasons why our large university is vastly superior to those live-in high schools they call colleges. Let's start with the people. When we first get to college we realize we are not in Kansas anymore. We don't know anyone and nobody knows us. (Unless of course you roomed with your best friend from high school.) There are no high school friend groups we can rely on to give us a phony niche and no teachers we have sucked up to for years to get us passing grades. Doesn't sound good? Well, it should! Large universities are the best environments for socialization skill enhancement. At a large school, you are forced to meet new people and make new friend groups because otherwise you will be lost in the crowd. The added bonus is, here, there is an extremely wide diversity of people to meet. The students and faculty are from all over the world and all over the nation. Therefore we have many different races, ethnicities, religions, backgrounds and cultures. At some small schools, the population is very controlled in number and diversity, which takes away from the whole experience. However, it is not always such a bad thing when not everyone knows your name? Remember "Cheers?" They knew every little idiosyncrasy and embarrassing moment that ever happened to each other, because they saw the same people every day. At many small schools, it is common knowledge who has hooked up with who. Do we really want that? Furthermore, not knowing everyone can be very helpful when it comes to parties. After a night in what we will call 'altered states of mind,' you may hear stories about your less than socially acceptable behavior. Don't panic, just because you may have tried to convince everyone that the "Macarena" is actually coming back into style, chances are you will never see any of these people again. In a school of almost 15,000 undergrads on campus, you have a good chance of being free of embarrassment. (Good luck getting your close friends to let you forget those crazy dance moves though.) Another great thing about the size of large universities is their attractiveness to budding music sensations. Most of the music we hear on the radio is geared to our age bracket and the music companies know they are not going to capitalize on our wasteful spending ways if they don't cater to our needs. What do we need? Bands. Live bands to come perform for us, because we all know not everyone has a car and can get to concerts. And why spend our gas money if we don't have to? The Co-op drains us of enough money each year. Large universities are perfect for this type of inexpensive publicity. The concerts are relatively frequent and usually much cheaper than normal. The last time OAR or Howie Day played at Wheaton College (population approximately 1,500 students) in Norton, Mass., we will never know. And it's not only rock stars that we attract, but orchestras, choirs, plays, musicals, comedians and cultural shows. Everyone remembers the fantastic Dave Chappelle show held not too long ago. All of our friends at other smaller colleges were definitely jealous. Since we know every college kid likes to eat we will make this comparison with food. Small colleges are the Whitney Dining halls of the educational buffet system. Not a lot of variety. That would make UConn the South dining hall of the educational buffet system, because of its sheer size and selection of sumptuous treats. There's so much more. Here at UConn we have over 260 clubs and organizations. Stonehill College in Easton, Mass., which has a population of about 2,200 undergrads, serves only about 90 clubs and organizations to its students. We don't know about you, but that leaves us hungry. And let us not forget about the whole reason for attending college, the education. Large universities have many options in regards to classes, majors and even extra help. Many small colleges specialize in certain academic areas. For example, WPI specializes in science, technology with many of its students majoring in engineering. What if an engineering student were to suddenly decide he or she did not want to do Engineering and thought Education would be a better fit? Unfortunately, WPI doesn't have Education as a major, so the student would be stuck. Large universities offer an extensive array of majors. There are currently 106 majors available to undergrads and 17 schools ranging from Engineering to Fine Arts to Nursing. This offers much more choice and flexibility for students who are unsure of their majors or who suddenly change their minds because they realize they have a burning desire to study Slavic and Eastern European studies, as opposed to their previous major of "Bio." Although transferring majors can be more frustrating than a history essay exam at 6 p.m. on the 13th, it is possible, and there is sure to be a subject that interests you.