>It's much easier to find and get the attention of good professors when you are a big fish in a little pond. They will find you.
I spent what was ostensibly my senior year of high school attending a mediocre 20K student state university near my hometown. Then, after high school graduation, I went to a slightly better private university.
At the state school, it wasn't hard to be noticed by professors in even large lecture classes. I was known as one of the people who showed up to class regularly. And, with little study, I was able to regularly get one of the highest grades in my classes. This is not a testament to my abilities in any sense -- it is evidence of the abysmal level of intellect and interest displayed by the student body as a whole.
Professors in several departments asked me if I would consider their field for a major because _I was obviously so interested and talented_. What made them think this? I showed up to class, filled out multiple-choice tests well, and occasionally stopped by for office hours with a interesting question. My level of competence would make me average at a better school, and this was indeed proven out when I went to engineering school.
What I did find was that the honors program at this school was actually quite good. The best professors taught honors classes, and much attention was paid to those students. So, there are niches of goodness, even in places like this school. Furthermore, some of the faculty were indeed quite good in their fields, so there was opportunity to learn from competent folk.
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>It's much easier to find and get the attention of good professors when you are a big fish in a little pond. They will find you.
I spent what was ostensibly my senior year of high school attending a mediocre 20K student state university near my hometown. Then, after high school graduation, I went to a slightly better private university.
At the state school, it wasn't hard to be noticed by professors in even large lecture classes. I was known as one of the people who showed up to class regularly. And, with little study, I was able to regularly get one of the highest grades in my classes. This is not a testament to my abilities in any sense -- it is evidence of the abysmal level of intellect and interest displayed by the student body as a whole.
Professors in several departments asked me if I would consider their field for a major because _I was obviously so interested and talented_. What made them think this? I showed up to class, filled out multiple-choice tests well, and occasionally stopped by for office hours with a interesting question. My level of competence would make me average at a better school, and this was indeed proven out when I went to engineering school.
What I did find was that the honors program at this school was actually quite good. The best professors taught honors classes, and much attention was paid to those students. So, there are niches of goodness, even in places like this school. Furthermore, some of the faculty were indeed quite good in their fields, so there was opportunity to learn from competent folk.