From Small School to Big Campus: How Much Does Size Matter? 5/5/2025
Last weekend, I tested a few college list-building methods with my high school junior. As I suspected, the process took a lot of time, and we both had to push through to reach the end. To be fair, he’s still a young junior—he won’t be 17 until August—though I imagine he would’ve worked at the same pace even if he were a few months older.
That said, the exercise wasn’t a waste of time. I learned a lot about what my son values in a college, beyond just his interest in Division I sports. One big surprise: he’s genuinely excited about going to college. I had already booked a trip back East to visit campuses, but until now, he hadn’t shown much interest in touring. So his enthusiasm was unexpected—and encouraging. Since the tickets are already purchased, he agreed to visit schools, and we’ll decide on campus tours as we go.
One thing that stood out as we worked through the worksheets was the lack of clarity around school sizes. There were no defined ranges for small, medium, or large colleges. Since my son attends a small private high school, he needed a better sense of what those categories actually mean. I gave him some ballpark numbers:
Small: fewer than 5,000 students
Medium: 5,001–15,000
Large: more than 15,000
Of course, our nearest college is ASU—massive by any standard—and many times larger than his current school.
I shared my own experience of starting college at Penn State years ago. My freshman business classes were held in 500-seat auditoriums, and I remember feeling overwhelmed by the scale. When I told my son this, he realized that kind of environment probably wouldn’t suit him. That story helped him better imagine what life at a large university might feel like.
Size really does matter, especially for students coming from small schools. It’s worth taking a few minutes to picture what 5,000 versus 50,000 students really looks and feels like.
I’d love to hear from others:
If you came from a small school and attended a much larger college, how did the transition go? Did you adapt well, or did the size never quite feel right?