If you would have asked me if I would be attending a small, Christian school when I was a junior in high school, I would have laughed in your face. I was determined to go to a huge school with a football team that was all about school spirit and tailgating. I wanted to join a sorority there and have 140+ sisters. I wanted to go to a place that was large enough that no one knew who I was unless I introduced myself to them.

Plot twist: I am at a small, private, Christian school with 4,000 students. The complete opposite of where I thought I would end up. Some people ask me if I would change my decision if I had the chance and my answer to that is no, I wouldn't. Most people look at Christian schools with a face of disgust, but let me tell you some benefits of attending a small, Christian school.

1. Community

My word is there such an amazing, close sense of community at a small institution. You feel it everywhere you go. The entire school is just a big family. They band together during the good and especially during the bad. You recognize every person's face, even if you don't know their name. It's a great feeling.

2. Personality

I know it's a weird concept, but a small school has such a fun personality. Because it's not huge, they can actually plan things for the entire student body that makes that school different than the others. Sometimes you can walk onto a small campus and just tell if it's a preppy environment or a hipster environment; or, if you go to my school, both.

3. Relationships

Not even dating relationships, but really strong friendships are formed on small campuses. It's really easy to form friend groups and even add someone in yours because it's encouraged. Even relationships with professors are awesome. I just had coffee with mine and talked about life. Because she doesn't have 100 students per class, she can take time to get to know her students one-on-one. That happens all of the time at tiny universities.

4. Atmosphere

I attend a Christian school where the Lord is present in everything that is done on campus. As a born again Christian, that atmosphere was really important to me as I chose which college to go to. Each school has its own unique atmosphere, but the really rare ones are found on small, private campuses.

Don't knock a small school until you try it. You never know.