Students at small schools tend to think our challenges are the end of the world. Our friends at bigger schools would take small schools’ challenges in a heartbeat over their bus rides to class and lecture halls filled with students and a professor who may not know their students' names. Overall, students everywhere have challenges regardless of their school’s size, but here are some small school “problems.”

Parking

Students at all types of schools complain about not being able to find an open spot close enough to where they live. Students at small schools are lucky enough to have to walk maybe a half mile away and yet, we will drive around looking for a close spot for longer than it would’ve taken to park and walk back from the spot that was ‘too far away.' Many times, we end up parking in the spot that’s ‘too far away’, but if we see a close spot it’s a race to the finish line.

Walking to Class

Students at small schools have the good fortune of having relatively small campuses, which means shorter walks to classes and no buses involved. We can roll out of bed at 7:50 for our 8 a.m. class, provided that we aren’t concerned about our appearance, and be seated in our desk on time. Anything over a half of a mile seems like walking to a different country and when it gets cold, we may drive to that class. If we drive, we will probably complain about the lack of a parking spot close to our residence after class is over.

Small Class Sizes

Students at small schools complain about having small classes because the professors really get to know each student and will notice when you skip class. Whether the professors care about attendance or not is their choice, but if they care--don’t even try to come up with an excuse for skipping.

The Gender Ratio

Students at small schools consider their dating pool to be too small. It seems that once you date one person half of your former options are now off-limits. Don’t be too particular about expectations in a partner because there might only be a handful of people at the school that fit your expectations. Students at small schools also complain about the gender ratio in their classes. It can be uncomfortable for someone if they are the only one who identifies as male or female in a class.

Their Busy Schedule

Students at small schools complain about having the majority of their daily schedule filled. This is because, at a small school, students who want to be involved have the opportunity to be involved--with everything. Passionate, overachieving students wear many hats at a small school. This extreme amount of responsibility is time-consuming and may create stress in other areas of our lives.

Campus Food

Students at small schools complain about the lack of food options on campus. We get tired of eating the same foods at the same locations on campus. The dining hall's attempts at the variety are not enough to satisfy our taste. Even though we grow tired of the campus options, we will eat at the same two restaurants off campus every week.