# Larger Class Sizes = Better for SA?



## UncertainMuffin (Sep 24, 2008)

Is there anyone here going to a university with large class sizes? I've often thought that those would be easier for someone with SA, as those classes might be more lecture based with less group interaction and presentations. For those attending a large university, is that true? Surely they can't expect 50 plus students make a presentation, right? 

I've often thought about finding a school like Arizona State, known for the big class sizes, and going there just for this reason. The little community college I'm going to now is becoming more and more of a nightmare as the days go on. Almost every class has a presentation and/or group discussion and it's miserable. I'm spending most of my energy and time worrying - not learning. Sitting back in a room of 50 students listening to the professor talk sounds more like it!


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## rctriplefresh5 (Aug 24, 2009)

i can only imagine walking in late to a 800 students class/:blank:blank


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## sansd (Mar 22, 2006)

Large lectures where you never have to say a word to anyone are less intimidating, but my experience with smaller classes involving forced participation is that it can make approaching the instructor a little easier. I think the only reason I've ever talked in person to a professor teaching a 100+ student class was when I needed a signature to withdraw, but helpful things have come from actually talking to instructors in other classes.

It's really easy to remain completely isolated when none of your classes require interaction or participation, and while this is more comfortable, the isolation can allow SA to worsen. At UCLA, I'd go months without talking to _anyone_ beyond maybe answering a quick question. I'm interacting with people a lot more now that I'm taking community college classes again, and it's been slowly getting easier.


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## SilentLoner (Jan 30, 2006)

I like bigger classes too.


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## Catlover4100 (Feb 10, 2009)

I actually feel the opposite. I've always felt less anxious in smaller classes. It may be a personal preference. Anyway, most schools have a sort of open house day where you can attend a class or two, so you may want to apply to a few big schools and a few small schools and then see which you like best.


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## lyssado707 (Oct 29, 2004)

i wish


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## Perfectionist (Mar 19, 2004)

I defintely prefer huge lectures with over a hundred students. You just sit there by yourself and never say anything and no one notices. With small classes it's really obvious when you never talk.


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## pita (Jan 17, 2004)

Yeah, they're a lot easier on the SA. But even at schools with large class sizes, you're probably going to have to take smaller seminar classes at some point.


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## anonymid (Oct 16, 2005)

pita said:


> Yeah, they're a lot easier on the SA. But even at schools with large class sizes, you're probably going to have to take smaller seminar classes at some point.


Yeah, once you're taking upper-level classes in your major, small classes are harder to avoid, even at a very large school. Generally it's the gen.-ed. and intro-level courses that are the giant lectures. Specialized courses within your major are going to be relatively small, for the most part.


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## iuseings (Nov 11, 2009)

As long as the class size is 50 or more it's way more comfortable. I think feeling anonymous allows me to forget about me and just concentrate on the lecture.


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## kanarazu (Jul 4, 2009)

I think so, I stupidly chose to go to a school with small class sizes, so I spend most of the time being terrified they will call on me...


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## happy (Feb 9, 2010)

Yes, I loved larger classes. Hundreds of students, clickers to answer questions and no interaction! 

But.. I do wish I had made friends. So perhaps from a comfort standpoint larger classes are better but for long term growth I would say smaller classes will certainly challenge you.


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## march_hare (Jan 18, 2006)

Big classes are definitely easier to attend, in that you don't have to worry about talking to anyone or getting asked questions by the lecturer. HOWEVER - having smaller classes/seminars are going to be more useful for your personal development, it's easier to ask questions and chat with classmates about the work, so you learn more as well as gaining social experience.
I've gotta say it is very anxiety-provoking though. I'm off to a 2 hour creative writing seminar in a few minutes and I'm ****ting my pants.


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## Catlover4100 (Feb 10, 2009)

One thing to consider though is that if you have to take some subjects that you're not so great at, you may not be able to get the individual attention and help that you need at a huge school. For me, I have to take two semesters of calculus and calculus-based physics (yikes!). If I just had to sit in a huge lecture hall and copy notes, it would be a complete nightmare.


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## pita (Jan 17, 2004)

Knife said:


> HOWEVER - having smaller classes/seminars are going to be more useful for your personal development, it's easier to ask questions and chat with classmates about the work, so you learn more as well as gaining social experience.
> I've gotta say it is very anxiety-provoking though. I'm off to a 2 hour creative writing seminar in a few minutes and I'm ****ting my pants.


I totally agree that smaller classes are useful for personal development. I've gone from dropping any class with a seminar to _almost_ excelling in class discussion. Yay me. But yeah, still very anxiety-provoking and ****ting-my-pants-inducing.


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## Just Lurking (Feb 8, 2007)

Yes, I enjoyed large classes because it was easy to blend into the crowd and the courses were lecture-based and scored only through testing (no group assignments, no presentations, etc). No pressure to fit in, no pressure to talk to people, no pressure to participate..

Unfortunately, as others have mentioned, the further into your program you are, the more likely you are to encounter smaller class sizes, group work, and presentations.


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## FlickeringHope (Oct 12, 2009)

carambola said:


> It's really easy to remain completely isolated when none of your classes require interaction or participation, and while this is more comfortable, the isolation can allow SA to worsen. At UCLA, I'd go months without talking to _anyone_ beyond maybe answering a quick question. I'm interacting with people a lot more now that I'm taking community college classes again, and it's been slowly getting easier.





Knife said:


> Big classes are definitely easier to attend, in that you don't have to worry about talking to anyone or getting asked questions by the lecturer. HOWEVER - having smaller classes/seminars are going to be more useful for your personal development, it's easier to ask questions and chat with classmates about the work, so you learn more as well as gaining social experience...


I think these points are really important to consider.

With bigger classes, the anonymity can make you more comfortable, because you can easily avoid the stuff that makes you anxious. But yeah, while it may allow you to stay in your comfort zone, all it does is enable you.

I'm a senior now and have gotten by relatively easily because I haven't been forced to deal with stuff. However, now I feel I'm going to be thrown to the wolves when I graduate because I'm severely lacking in social skills and have made no contacts while in college.

I guess in the end, it all comes to avoidance with me.

Maybe it's different for everyone, I don't know. But for me, avoiding in this way just makes me worse.


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## Laith (Mar 20, 2009)

My uni is huge and yeah it makes it a bit easier. Some classes I've had at my uni had 300-400 people. As I got into the more upper division classes, the classes got smaller and smaller. They were all still 40-60+ people though. The class sizes are also bigger than they used to be due to the AZ budgets cuts. The smallest classes I've been in were labs, ~30 people. I've only had to do 1 presentation at my uni =D


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## TurningPoint (Jan 27, 2010)

Smaller classes = more likely to make friends.
Big classes = easier to focus on lectures.

In my experiences anyways


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## cemeterygates (Feb 15, 2010)

I hate big classes! I'm in an English class at school that only has 10 other people and I love it. You really get to know everyone. A big class makes me feel anxious.


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## Kittia (Feb 12, 2010)

I really liked anonymity in large lectures at my university, whereas in smaller classes there was often the teacher randomly calling people for answers or at least some participation... and yes, more presentations, too. I was extremely nervous in smaller classes and couldn't remember much or pay attention well... so yeah, smaller classes were a nightmare.  I also preferred being taught by professors rather than grad students. I do think it was easier to learn in smaller classes that had more complicated math/science stuff, though. As for making friends, I didn't have much luck, even in small classes. And as for asking questions, it was about the same for both small and large classes because you could just go to the teacher's office hours for help, instead of raising your hand in class. (although I never went to office hours... :-/)

So, overall, larger classes were better for me, but many lower level classes with 300+ people lectures had small discussion groups (25-30 people) once a week, which I reeeally hated. Classes also didn't necessarily get small at higher levels... a lot of my classes had 100+ people my junior/senior years... it just depends on how many people are in your major.


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## mooncake (Jan 29, 2008)

I definately feel a lot more comfortable in my larger lectures (100+ students) because of the anonymity issue. But I agree with the above points about that set-up making it very easy for you to islolate yourself and not to engage with other people on your course. 

When I attend my small seminar groups (around 8-14 people) I find the discussions and exchanges extremely interesting and stimulating but my anxiety goes through the roof, resulting in me not being able to concentrate as much as I'd like to. I find I'm constantly fearing being picked on to contribute and when in the past I have been made to speak I've just humiliated myself by not being able to think 'on-the-go' as other people in my classes seem able to do. At least in the huge lecture theatres I can walk in and be just another tiny face in the sea of others. 

Got my first presentation in a week's time for one of my seminars and I'm just about ****ting myself. :afr


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## CandySays (Apr 6, 2008)

I find smaller classes to be all-round better, for both socializing and getting the most out of class. Think about it this way; what's worse, asking a question in front of hundreds of kids, or twenty? Socially, since there are so many students, nearly everyone is sitting in a different seat each time class meets. It's much easier to feel comfortable seeing the same faces every time for me, personally. Maybe my social anxiety isn't necessarily the worst out there, but that's how I see it.


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## lilgreenmouse (Jun 14, 2009)

A mix of both is preferable. You're more likely to not feel as much pressure and make friends, who you might even realize take the same large classes as you too but never noticed before.


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## Hello22 (Feb 10, 2010)

Yes and no. when i started uni i was in big lecture halls, but now in final year we are in small classes. I felt more anonymous in big lecture halls, and also meant no class interaction or presentations, which i like and when i was told we had to do presentations in final year, i thought 'how am i gonna do that?'. but smaller classes let me face my fear of public speaking, even when i didn't want to. In life you have to face your fears, and that's what i felt happened in the last 2 years. Once I did a few presentations it got easier. So i do prefer small classes as it took me out of my comfort zone


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## Skysie (Oct 24, 2010)

Oh yeah I love large lecture classes. I feel comfortable not talking to anyone because most of the people in the class are keeping to themselves anyway. It's nice knowing that I don't have to participate. The only down side to a large lecture class, at least for me, is that it's easier for my mind to wander. The main problem is I fall asleep a third of the time. Since my accounting class is in a lecture hall of 200 students, the class is very impersonal and it's like watching a boring infomercial.


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## ihatesocialanxiety101 (Nov 30, 2010)

I prefer smaller classes as large classes make me feel closed in and claustrophobic.


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## heyJude (Aug 1, 2009)

I'm a _lot_ more comfortable in smaller classes.


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## Disastuh (Mar 20, 2010)

pita said:


> Yeah, they're a lot easier on the SA. But even at schools with large class sizes, you're probably going to have to take smaller seminar classes at some point.


I go to U of T. Technically I'm only a second year student (going into third) at this point, although I've been going for almost 4 years now. But anyway, I'm nearing the end of one of my majors and afraid of having to eventually take the smaller 4th year classes. Fortunately I'm registered with "accessibility services" for my anxiety, so through that I can get exemptions - but it's still obvious when you're the only one not communicating in a group. :afr

I'm comfortable in my classes of 150+ students. So anonymous.


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## Nightwing (Sep 7, 2006)

I have a class this semester with only four other people. I hate it because we have to participate in class and the small size just makes it more obvious that I barely talk/participate at all. While everyone else is deep into group discussion, I just nod occasionally and only speak when called on. When I do speak it is very brief. I think it makes me look like I'm lazy or that I don't care. In reality, I'm so nervous about having to talk in front of other people that I can't think of anything meaningful to say. In a large class, if I don't talk it goes by unnoticed because there's not really any pressure to participate if other people in the class are talkers.


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## JMX (Feb 26, 2008)

IMO, bigger classes has its pros and cons for SA. Sure, you can hide in the crowd and not having to worry about interacting with people, but it also means you won't be given the chance to fight it.


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## millenniumman75 (Feb 4, 2005)

While it might sound like a good thing to be in a larger class. Sometimes, it isn't. It is far harder to get any time with the professor for anything and more often than not, it's a TA.

Presentations are good practice for SA - everybody has trouble with them.


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## Cold (Aug 29, 2010)

In my university, most basic courses are mass lectures, but they include a lot of group work. (which made me ditch a course before I started taking meds) Next year, after I've picked my major, class sizes will get smaller. I find myself actually looking forward to that.  Getting to know new people and socialising, that is. Thank LORD for medication.. <3


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## nycdude (Mar 20, 2010)

Bigger classes are better, there is a less chance of me being called on to talk.


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## PandaRawr (Aug 18, 2010)

In my experience I enjoy the big classes I feel no pressure or anxiety unless someone tries to make small talk with me which only happen twice.


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## Bruceross89 (Dec 30, 2010)

So TS, you're hoping by going to a big school that you will not be expected to do presentations? I have some classes that have 200+ people in them, but then we have seminars, which breaks the class into smaller groups of 10-30 or so. Usually have to participate or lead a whole seminar. I actually enjoy seminars though, I met a lot of people through them.


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