The college process is a very personal, intimidating and without a doubt, life-changing decision. Being 18 years old and having to make this very expensive decision can be daunting, but that's what makes it such a unique experience. Choosing the best fit for you in regards to quality of education, size and location are all really important factors in ensuring that you are choosing the perfect place for you to be successful. For me, choosing a smaller school in the Midwest where I would receive a high quality of education was the best fit for me and these are a few of the reasons why.
You see familiar faces walking to class.
Sure, there are those few people you don’t want to necessarily pass
The first day of class is exciting because you are guaranteed to have a friend in class.
I noticed this my spring semester right off the bat. Being that college is personalized for your major, a lot of the people in your core classes are on the same path as you. As you move through your courses, you’re guaranteed to have a few friends in class which makes it easier to find someone to sit by, helps to expand your friend group and allows you to make study groups and get the best possible grade in that class.
Your professors know you by name and get to know you on a personal level.
Walking through campus and having a professor say hi to you by name and taking time out of their day to have a conversation with you about nonschool-related topics is a nice way to get out of the college student mindset and talk to someone multiple years older than you. Also, since we are away from our parents, having mentors on campus to go to for advice, tutoring or help with the material in class is a comforting feeling, especially when you’re hours, or even states away from your parents.
The transition from high school to college was effortless.
While my university has thousands more students than my high school did, the class size remains relatively the same. I don’t feel intimidated to ask questions in front of hundreds of other students in a lecture hall because I’m surrounded by classes from 15 students to 100 students, most of which I know by name.
You’re always in on what’s happening on campus.
Being on a smaller campus, there aren’t tons of different big areas for events to take place. That being said, walking to class you pass major events occurring and can stop by in-between class and get involved even more through organizations you normally wouldn’t have known were having events. When it comes to sporting events, usually every smaller school has that one team that's the “main” sport where every student gets out, goes to wait in line for hours and goes all out in the student section. Going to other smaller teams' games introduces you to the team and gives you something to do on the weekends or weeknights when your homework load isn’t too extreme.
You can leave for class 5 minutes before class starts and still make it.
Coming from someone who thinks 10 a.m. is early, waking up for 8 a.m.s was terrifying for me. Luckily, having your farthest building be a 5-minute walk from your dorm makes waking up 20 minutes before your class starts socially acceptable. College style is all about dressing comfy and wearing your school’s sweatshirts and sweatpants so basically you can go to class in your PJs, giving you an extra 5 minutes of sleep at the crack of dawn. Gotta love college.
Making a decision on what size college is your best fit truly is a personal puzzle. Once you find your fit, whether large or small, the four best years of your life are still guaranteed to lie ahead. So accept your dream school, relax and enjoy the crazy adventure.
