At a large state school, can I get personal attention?

Question

If I go to a school with 40,000 students, how can I make sure that I get attention from my professors? Can I get the helpt I need? Can I get to know them? Will it be easy?

I'm planning on being an ECONOMICS major

Answer 1

It will probably vary from course to course. When you have large (100+) introductory classes, getting the individual attention is a little tough. However, not all your classes will be that large. The smaller classes offer a better opportunity to get to know profs. I think what you are majoring in will make a difference as well.

Answer 2

That depends very much on your major. If you major in something like Psychology or English, then your courses will likely mostly be large lecture sections, and while you might get attention from a teaching assistant, you are unlikely to get to know most, if any, of your professors. On the other hand, in some departments you may find smaller classes. I was a music major at a large school my first two years of college, and there were relatively few of us. We were broken up into three or four sections, each with about 20 students, and we got to know at least some of the professors very well.

Answer 3

That will depend on how the school organizes the larger classes and how much effort you are willing to put into getting help.

I went to UCLA, largest student body of any school. The way they organize classes is for example, 2 lectures a week which can have 400 or more students (if its a lower division intro course or a popular lower div) and then once a week you have a discussion with a TA with only about 10-20 students. And teachers always have office hours.

In your upper division major courses it is highly unlikely to have such a large amount of students. You can always get help at office hours if you make the effort to go there, and you can always take independant study courses to get to know professors better.

Answer 4

It will vary a lot from class to class and year to year. Your major will also make a big difference as well. During your first couple of years you will most likely be taking general education classes that everybody has to take. These tend to very large in size (depending on the size of your university) and will be hard to get a lot on one on one attention. In your final two years when you are into major-specific classes, your class size will shrink and your personal attention will increase. How much will depend on your major and how many people are enrolled in it. A lot will also depend on the professor. Even in very large classes, many professors are willing to give back as much as your willing to put in. Show them you are willing to work hard and they will work with you. Many also have teaching assistants that can serve as liason between the professor and yourself.

Answer 5

You will only get it if you make an effort to get it.