Just a number to the UC system
By bryguy 
PRIMARY ISSUE : COLLEGE & CAREER
SECONDARY ISSUE: TEACHING & LEARNING
THIS STORY’S TAGS
attention,class sizes,college access,teacher quality
My grandpa always admonishes me for wanting to attend Georgetown University. He goes on and on about the superior value of a University of California education, about the prestige of the professors at UC Los Angeles and UC Berkeley. UC tuition is undeniably cheaper than that of private schools, and diplomas from top-tier UC’s are extremely prestigious. But then again, those are the only advantages – and they don’t cover up their disgusting drawbacks. I can’t really imagine myself taking introductory classes with 500 other freshmen in a cavernous auditorium, an unenthusiastic graduate student at the lectern, subbing for the Nobel laureate professor too consumed by his research to teach his students. I can’t really imagine being lost in a sea of 20,000 other undergraduate students, milling about campus like an ant on an anthill, without seeing a single familiar face. And I can’t really imagine receiving any personal attention from faculty or academic counselors. It doesn’t matter if you don’t show up to class; there’s no such thing as cuts. There’s no such thing as trash duty for tardies, and there’s definitely no such thing as detention. At a huge public university, no one cares if you’re not studying for your midterms or if you’re behind on all the reading and you’re on track to bomb your final. Over the summer following my graduation, all the responsibility to succeed and grow and learn will lift from the shoulders of administrators, teachers, and parents and will be dumped squarely onto mine – and mine alone. College is a time for students to take the initiative, to actively explore the vast array of extra-curricular activities available, to find a small niche, to seek a purpose, become independent – but I don’t see why I can’t have a little bit of help along the way. It’s not that I don’t want more freedom; far from it. At least half of the colleges I’m applying to are on the East Coast, far away from my maniacal micro-managing mom. I’m thrilled with the idea of leaving home and living my own dorm room – but as a still-maturing teenager, I don’t think I deserve all the accountability for studying hard, for attending boring lectures, and for avidly participating in activities; I don’t trust myself that much. I prefer an interactive class setting, where open discussion takes place between students. I prefer getting a little personalized help from my teachers from time to time, especially on my essays. And I prefer what educational amenities the UC system doesn’t offer. As I browse through many websites and pamphlets of private schools, I like what I see: seven-to-one student-to-faculty ratios, average class sizes of 30 students, 99% of classes taught by faculty, peer advising, first-year seminars with ten students or less. I prefer getting some respect and attention as an undergraduate student at medium-sized private schools like Georgetown. The “right” college is becoming more about personal preference – “the perfect fit” – and less about the prestige and the diplomas. That’s why I’m forfeiting the superior value of UC tuition – my grandpa might be a little out of touch with the times, anyway.
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PRIMARY ISSUE : COLLEGE & CAREER
SECONDARY ISSUE: TEACHING & LEARNING
THIS STORY’S TAGS
attention,class sizes,college access,teacher quality
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To Each His/Her Own
I currently go to UC Berkeley and couldnt' disagree more. I love this school. I visited smaller, liberal arts schools (Reed, Lewis and Clark, USD, etc) and felt that they were high school, extended. I didn't like how insulated and elitist they were. There is something incredibly liberating about not having to show up to class- but wanting to anyway. I'm not trying to convince you that the UC system is perfect or that you will love it, because it is definitely not for everyone. I suppose it is just how you look at it. I don't feel lost amongst all those people, I feel proud to be amongst some of the best and brightest the nation. I don't mind huge classes--- which, by the way, almost always come with much smaller discussion sections--- becaause I don't mind the fact that my brilliant professors are sharing their knowledge with as many people as they can. We too have first year seminars, usually taught by award-winning teachers, and they are really small. It should be noted that usually only lower-division classes are large.