When you're a junior in high school and everyone starts nagging you to look at colleges, they tell you to narrow your choices down by "what you like." Things like whether or not you can play a sport there, if the campus is in a small college town or a big city, or if they have the right major for you.
One of the most common things that you get asked is whether you want to go to a big school or a small school, and you don't really realize how big of a decision that this is because you've only ever been to one small-size school. How are you supposed to know if you would like a bigger campus over a smaller one? Personally, I threw this decision out the window and based my choice on other things (like how much money they would give me).
In the end, I found myself at a big school with over 10,000 undergrads. I had never been surrounded by so many people. At first, I felt completely lost, like I was totally invisible, until I realized that this wasn't actually a bad thing. Besides having a million different clubs and levels of sports for everyone, this big school gave me a place to fit in by giving me a place to hide. It's not that I like being lonely, but that I like being alone at times. In a crowd, you can be surrounded by people but still be alone, and sometimes that's exactly what you need. During your freshman year of college, you're figuring things out; who your friends are, what clubs you want to join, if you like your major, and if you're managing your time well. When your head is full of all these conflicting thoughts, it can be relieving to walk to class alone and not be recognized by anyone, or to study alone in the library without feeling obligated to wave to everyone you see. Blending in and going with the flow can make the whole freshman year transition so much easier, especially if you're surrounded by a thousand other freshmen who are making the same mistakes.
A big school also has a lot to offer if you aren't interested in alone time; the bigger the student body, the more potential friends you could make. The few hundred students that surrounded you in high school gave way to a few thousand in college; among those few thousand are your new lifelong friends, if you look for them in the right places. With the expanded options for clubs and sports combined with living and eating in the same buildings, you'll have no trouble finding the right people. Plus, going out on the weekends is a lot easier when you have more places to go (options, people!).
Overall, going to a larger school has made for a better college experience (personally). Finding friends and finding a niche was almost effortless, as anything can be when you have more options. The bigger the campus, the better your freshman year will be (if you're like me).
