I graduated with 700 students in my class. I attended high school on a multi-academic building campus. The school district had to build another school just to put the freshmen in. We dominated in sports and we excelled in academic competition, which is very common in large universities. So obviously, attending a small high school or university must mean the opposite, right? WRONG.
What we refer to as "small school syndrome" is all in your head. Your friends headed to that big-name university are not looking down on you because your school is a little smaller or a little less recognized. Sure, your parents' friends give that sympathetic, “Oh...well that’s still a great school!” comment when they hear where you’re headed in the fall. Thanks, but no thanks. I wasn’t looking for reassurance that I still had a shot at a bright future when I told someone my collegiate plans. I already knew and you should know too, which is why I will give you the reasons you should be proud you attend a small university.
1. Walking distance.
Walking to class is a total drag on your legs. The last thing I want to do is take a twenty-minute bus ride to the bus stop that is another ten minutes away from class. It’s a good thing the longest amount of time it takes me to get to class is eight minutes (OK, 10 minutes because I stopped to get a bagel). Walking to class is less of a struggle when there’s no struggle-bus to hop on to get to your class that is three miles away.
2. Smaller class sizes.
In the least dramatic way possible, have you ever felt like you don’t matter? That’s how I felt in enormous lecture classrooms. Would my professor seriously care if I just didn’t show up tomorrow, or next week or for the rest of the semester? Some could see this as a plus but really is skipping class even cool anymore? We all have heard the speech before that skipping class will only hurt you, but in college it will also hurt your bank account tremendously. Small class sizes will give you more time to talk with your professors, ask them questions, and backtrack on any information when needed.
3. Involvement opportunities.
I’m not going to stress the importance of getting involved on campus. It is, but I know you don’t have time to hear it for the eighteenth time this week. Just consider how many more opportunities you have to get involved because you actually heard about them. Don’t be the biology major in their last semester of college recently hearing about the Biology Honors Society.
4. Meeting more people.
Do you know what’s fun? Making friends. Do you know what is super hard to do in a school with thousands of students? Making friends. Small schools offer an easier way to make friends because you tend to be in a lot of the same classes as the people in your major. Desk partners become fast friends when two years down the road they are suffering through statistics together and need someone to study with. Developing a sense of familiarity in classes and routines will only benefit moral on campus.
5. Making a name for yourself.
Joe who? Exactly. College is the place to make yourself known to colleagues, classmates, and potential employers. In a large university, it’s easy to fall into the crowd if you don’t properly market yourself. In a small university, making your name stand out is more possible with all of the intimate opportunities you’ve been given on campus, and more people will have the chance to remember you.
Look, I’m not trying to anger students who attend big universities. Of course you are doing great things on your own and have abundant opportunities to thrive at your school that we at smaller universities might not have, but all I’m saying is that attending a small university is not bad. So, as a starting freshman or a graduating senior at a small high school, you have two options in phrasing where you attend school: “I guess I’ll go to XYZ University,” or “ I’m going to XYZ University!” Don’t let others’ assumptions dictate your success at school.
