Are Florida State or the University of Richmond better for small class sizes?

The biggest practical tradeoff is scale: Florida State offers the resources and course variety of a large public university, while the University of Richmond is built much more around small classes and close faculty contact. If small discussion-based classes and regular professor interaction are a top priority, Richmond is usually the stronger match. Its undergraduate focus and liberal arts structure make it much more likely that your classes, especially outside intro sequences, will feel personal from the start.

At Richmond, students typically find seminar-style courses, easier access to office hours, and professors who know them by name relatively early in college. The school is small enough that advising, class discussion, and mentoring often feel central to the experience.

Florida State can absolutely offer meaningful faculty relationships, but the experience is less consistent because of the university’s size. In many introductory courses, you are more likely to encounter larger lecture formats and rely more on TAs or structured support systems before moving into smaller upper-level classes in your major.

That said, FSU’s classroom experience can vary a lot by program. Honors students or students in smaller departments may get more of the close-knit academic feel you are looking for, but it usually takes more intentional effort to build that environment than it does at Richmond.

So on the specific question of small class sizes and individual attention, Richmond has the clearer edge. FSU is the better pick only if you want the opportunities and energy of a big public university enough that you are comfortable working a bit harder to create a smaller academic world within it.