When a high schooler visits SMC, it seems as if all they can hear the tour guides blab about is the benefits of small class sizes. I remember visiting and my tour guide Liz (yes, I remember her name) was so excited about showing me how the tables in Spes can be rearranged to make a circle, and how classrooms rarely hold more than 30 students. I was like, this is great, but can we go tour the dorms now?
But really, you don’t realize the amazing benefits of small class sizes until you experience them for yourself. I listen to my friends at state schools complain about TAs, talk about how a 100-sized class is small, and tell me that their entire grade is 100% made up of how they do on the final, and my small-class-size privileged heart just can’t take it. We are so lucky to have classes of only 15-30 students here at SMC, and thanks to those small classes, I’ve gained some skills I never would have otherwise.
I can manage my time and priorities. At large schools, professors don’t really assign graded homework assignments, because who has time to grade 300 assignments? And they don’t take attendance, so it’s on the student to actually show up. Even though the fact that attendance is mandatory (and taken!)  in each of my classes, and every little homework point counts can sometimes feel like a drag, it’s made me a much more responsible person. I’ve learned the value of actually showing up, and I’ve learned to manage my time to go to class AND do the work.
I can work well in groups. Small liberal arts college=group projects. Seriously, I am always involved in at least 1 group project at all times. In the real career world, you work in teams almost all the time, and have you seen The Office? Nobody gets along with ALL their coworkers (Jim and Dwight), but you have to be able to put your differences aside for the sake of the company. I’ve learned to do that with less than ideal group project partners.
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I know how to ask good questions. At small schools, participation is part of your grade, but a lot of professors don’t ask questions. Instead, it’s up to you to ask the questions to get a good participation grade, so now I know how to formulate good questions that spark discussion and get me the A. At the end of job interviews, when they say, “Do you have any questions?” I’m always ready to knock their socks off with questions that show my interest in the company.
All of these skills I’ve learned just from being in small classes, and I wouldn’t have learned them if I had chosen a school other than Saint Mary’s. So yeah, even though seeing the dorms was pretty important to high school me, nowadays, I’m pretty thankful for those tiny rooms in Spes.