The number and type of students who attend a college can be important to consider when choosing a college. Here are some things to think about:

Student Body

The student body, or student population, means all of the students attending a school. The number of students is sometimes referred to as “total enrollment”. At a university, this enrollment number will include both undergraduate and graduate students.

When you search for enrollment information on websites, you may see separate undergraduate and graduate enrollment numbers, or one total number for all students at the university.

Most colleges and universities in the United States; for example, Harvard, are coed, which means they admit both men and women. There are also some private colleges that admit only men or only women; for example, Wellesley.

• How many students attend your school?
• Is your school coed?
• Do you want to go to college with many International students, including those from your home country? Explain.

Class Size

Class size may also be an important consideration. Classes with 20 students or fewer are considered small and ideal for learning.

• What is the average class size at your school?
• Do you like having this number of students in your class? Why?

Student: Faculty Ratio

A related factor is Student:Faculty ratio. Faculty means teachers at a college or university. With a ratio of 10:1, there is 1 teacher for every 10 students at the college.

In general, if the student body is small, the student:faculty ratio will be lower. In other words, class sizes will be smaller and students will be more likely to find teachers available for help outside of class.

• What is the student:faculty ratio in your class right now?
• Is this number good or bad for your ability to learn?