By Daniel Loduca, First Year Advisor

Hi everyone! 

 I’m back with a new blog post! This time it’s to explain the amazing benefits of Schulich’s small class sizes; a benefit that often goes unnoticed until you actually begin attending these more intimate lectures. Schulich’s cozy classes of around 25 to 55 students make each class extremely simple for first-year students to feel comfortable in their new university environment. 

Embrace Your New Community

Based on my experiences, and the experiences of my friends, I know that many incoming students have a fear of not being able to make friends in university. I promise you that York University is a truly welcoming community and it will be effortless to make friends in your weekly Schulich lectures. Your assigned cohorts will also make it easier to make friends and feel part of a community (a luxury that past students such as myself never had in our first years).  

Apart from the ease of making friends, an additional advantage of Schulich’s smaller class sizes is the stronger connections it enables you to make with your professors. Professors are a great resource and source of knowledge for any student. All of them are tremendously well-versed in their field and most even have personal industry experience that could help you develop more educated career aspirations!

Connect With Your Profs

Please don’t fall into the trap of being intimidated by your professors as they’re always happy to help. (They are university professors for a reason, after all!) By the end of the term, your professors will know you by name, especially if you attend their 1-on-1 office hours. Do not take your professors’ experience and knowledge for granted over your four years at Schulich; their expertise means that you have a wealth of information available to you at any time. You just have to be willing to take initiative to receive it. 

Learn By Doing and Discussing

A final advantage that Schulich’s smaller class sizes offers to you, the students? Greater opportunities for experiential and hands-on learning. Throughout my two years as a student at Schulich, I find it hard to think back to a specific class that did not engage the students and encourage them to participate. This participation came in many forms such as class discussions, debates, activities, and group presentations. Personally, these class-wide exercises kept the lectures appealing and enjoyable for me because I knew I could be involved in the entire class’s learning process rather than just listen. 

Hopefully, after reading the benefits of Schulich’s tight-knit community and classrooms, you’re looking forward to your first day of class!

 

As always, feel free to reach out (firstyearadvisor@schulich.yorku.ca) and ask me any questions about Schulich or any of the topics covered in my posts and I will be glad to help!