My college has under 2000 students on campus. The town surrounding is less than 11,000. I love the community that is created at small colleges like mine, and I wouldn't trade it for anything. But while there are many pros to going to a small college, I have come to find some cons as well. Here is a list of the main cons of going to a small college.
1. Everyone knows everyone.
When your school is the size of some high schools, it is hard to find a stranger anywhere. Chances are by senior year you will have had almost everyone thats in your grade in a class at some point.
Which leads me to my next point...
2. Everyone knows everyones business.
Whether it be someone makes a stupid mistake when they go out on the weekend, someone starts dating or transfers out, you can bet the whole campus will know about it in a matter of days. This can be nice because you don't have to tell a lot of people if something significant changed in your life, but it can backfire when people you hardly know, know a lot about you.
3. Exes are everywhere.
You ever get the feeling that no matter where you go, your ex boyfriend/girlfriend is there? Well that is a reality at a small school. And if they aren't personally there to see you, they have friends who will report back to them on your actions (that goes back to number 2). If and when you break up, everyone will have an opinion on it and you'll be off limits (because everyone knows your ex at such a small school).
Just don't date at all if you're at a small college, it'll be a lot less awkward in the long run.
4. There is nothing to do in town.
If your school is really small, chances are its in a small town too. And if you're in a small town that means that the most exciting thing to do is to go to WalMart, so learn to get creative with your out of school activities sooner rather than later.
5. Having small classes can backfire on you.
Don't get me wrong, having classes so small that your professors will actually know you and care about your grades is awesome. But the fact that they know you means that they know when you skip class and they call you out when you don't do your homework.
6. You see your professors everywhere (even at the bar).
You know those times that you ran into your teacher outside of school as a kid, and you couldn't imagine that they had lives outside of school and it was the worst thing ever? Well that is everyday at a small college. That goes along with the last point, you wont only see them in class and you should get used to it.
7. It feels like a glorified version of high school sometimes.
At least at my small college there are school dances that feel more like freshmen year high school dances, the RA's seem more like crazy strict parents than your peers and the food is just as bad, if not worse than the high school cafeteria food. But to each small school their own.
8. No-one knows what your school is.
I have never been able to say where I go to school and have someone actually know where/what it is. Its always, "I go to Benedictine. Its a small school in Atchison. Thats in north Kansas. Yes Kansas. Yes it is very small."
