Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1879-07-16
Wafrhman & NnnrnaI.
WEDNESDAY, JULY 10, 1870.
Large or Small Colleges.

year, when 80 many young men are making
the choice Of college where they shall
spend the next four years of their lives, a
few thoughts on the comparative advantages
of large and small colleges may not be out
of place. A college course is great oppor
tunity-an opportunity which comes to only
few, and to those only once in a lifetime
Active life is so crowded with labors and
care that very few enjoy the leisure and
freedom for study which four years
course in college affords. Still smaller is
the number Of those whose fortune it is 10
pursue their studies amid so great advan.
tages as is afforded by college education
1t is therefore matter of no small impor-
tance to make wise choice, and secure the
best returns for SO much expenditure of
money and time.
Whether student shall attend large or
small college is not largely question of
financial ability. Many of the larger col
leges have either practically no tuition
charges, or else have SO ample means of as
sisting those in need that the small colleges
do not have the advantages in this respect
which they once had If young man
chooses to be independent and to practice
the same economy in any of the larger in
stitutions of the country, he can usually
complete his course with about as little en-
barrassment as elsewhere.
Cp,aIl ,ollanao JonbtIass have ,o,,o 4
vantages over large ones. Glasses are smaller
and the student enjoys closer relation with
his instructors. The drill-work can he &C.
complished more effectually in class of
half dozen than in one of hundred. The
more intimate association with the professors
also puts the student in possession of more
of the minds of his instructors.
On the other hand, it must be borne ia
mind that discipline is not primarily the OBJ
ject of college course. Assuming that the
foundation has already been laid by the
careful work of the preparatory course, it
furnishes all the means wherewith the stu
dent may begin to build the superstructure
of scholarship. To guide and to inspire is
of more Importance than to drill the stu
dent into certain course of thought, which
very likely represents the limited, perhaps
the narrow acquisitions, of his instructor.
American scholarship is at present so far ad-
vanced that most of the discipline which is
necessary to successful work ought to be
done in the preparatory school, leaving the
student during his college course mainly to
original and independent research. The
finest scholarship is not that which is de.
veloped under tutelage-the pupil being
drilled to a certain routine-bnt that which,
with wise guidance, rests the search for
knowledge upon the love of it, and the at
tainment of knowledge upon original re-
search and thought. The idea of a great
university is not that of a school-house with
its task-master and lash, but place where
all its associations and opportunities awaken
the desire for knowledge and afford the
means for its b est and fullest qualification.
In this view the advantages afforded by
large colleges are much superior to those of
smaller institutions. The means of culture
are so much more ample and varied that
larger life can be lived. The greater num-
Der of instructors makes it possible TO offer
the student wider choice of studies, thereby
securing more enthusiasm and better work.
In most of the small colleges the student is
confined to an iron-bound course, or only
granted little liberty in the last year. A
choice of studies which is congenial with
the taste of the student and which may
look towards more practical results with
reference to future work, is not only more
agreeable to the student but is almost al
ways bound to produce better fruits.
The large colleges not only afford wider
range of studies, but they also furnish more
ample means for their pursuit. They are
able to bring together greater talent, larger
libraries, better museums. Every student
of good ability and who is ambitious to
finds time, aside from the prescribed course,
to pursue one or two branches much beyond
the limits of the college curriculum. But
if he finds his invest cations cut short by
inefficient libraries, museums, or labratories,
as he almost certainly will in small colleges,
he is doomed to disappointment.
Moreover, the superior associations of large
institutions are of unmeasured advantage.
The stimulating influence of great center of
learning, venerable with age and rich in all
the means which make men great, is mat
ter of no slight Importance. A small col
lege with its score of professors and fifty or
hundred students can hardly produce an
atmosphere favorable for the best growth.
Not only is the mind of the student stirred
by the material surroundings among which
he moves, but the inspiration of few EN-
inent men, such as are only found in great
universities, is often carried throughout all
labors of life. The action and reaction also
which come from associations with large
number of men, all differing in tastes and
requirements, remove great many rough
corners and afford means of culture which
cannot be found in small colleges.
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