From: adam@address.invalid   
      
   unruh wrote:   
   > On 2012-06-25, Adam  wrote:   
   >> I didn't give up on education; I just concluded that a large research   
   >> university is not the best place for an undergraduate. [....]   
   >   
   > iExcellent. Yes, for some the college route can definitely be a better   
   > way to go. It is easy to get lost at a large place. Some research U can   
   > also be good, since some are not large.   
      
   The undergrad campus of the (private) university I was at only had about   
   2000 undergrads (I forget how many grad students, but fewer than that),   
   so I wouldn't say that campus was large.  What bothered me was that most   
   of the faculty there didn't care about undergrads, so I had mostly   
   professors who clearly didn't care about teaching and whose lectures   
   were unintelligible unless one already knew the material (and in that   
   case why show up?), or graduate student "teaching assistants" who also   
   had no interest in teaching.  While I was there, one student asked a   
   question to the TA in the section meeting, and the TA replied, "I know   
   the answer to that, but don't know how to say it in English."   
      
   > The state U tend to be large not   
   > because of research, but becase their mandate from the state is to be   
   > large. And I suspect it was the "large" that was the problem, not the   
   > "university".   
      
   At least at that institution, I don't think it was the "large," but the   
   "research university" that was the problem.  I've heard of other   
   (generally state) schools where the problem is more in the "large" than   
   in the "university," though.   
      
   Adam   
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