Most kids recently graduating from high school want the “full college experience.” Usually, this includes going to a large school of over 5,000 students where they will be able to make lots of new friends, go to some major parties, and get a degree that they think is better than any other simply because it is from a larger university. While the appeal of a large university is certainly tempting from the eyes of Hollywood and our naive high school minds, it’s just not everything it’s cracked up to be. Don’t get me wrong, a larger university is wonderful—probably very prestigious; however, the smaller, private universities are by far the best option when looking at quality over quantity. Here’s why.

1. You and your professor are on a first name basis.

Going to a school with only about 1,000 students allows your professors to really get to know you because of the small class sizes. That, and they see you around campus all the time because it is so small. When you need help with an assignment you can just drop by their office and talk with them about it, or, better yet, you’re able to raise your hand in class and have a discussion right there. No need for stadium classroom setups and microphones, just desks and a projector.

2. Everyone knows everyone.

Who says you need to go to a large university to make a ton of new friends? You’d probably only make a handful, anyway. You get to know (or at least recognize) everyone on campus at a small university, and it’s fantastic. It’s like having your own little community or family away from home. At a large university, it’s easy to feel small and overwhelmed. There are thousands of people swarming around you, and you have the task of selecting a group of friends that will become your second family and help you through all the woes of college life. That’s rough.

3. Medical and graduate schools prefer the small, private school grad.

I’ve had a few doctors (and a surgeon) tell me that if I ever wanted to go into the medical field, I was certainly going to the right university. Most medical schools and graduate programs will choose the small, private school graduate over the UCLA graduate with the same GPA. This is because of the quality of the education given at private universities compared to larger ones. At a small private school, the quality of the professors, along with the small class sizes, means that more time and care has been devoted to teaching. Larger university professors cannot always help their students in the ways they need and often have Teaching Assistants leading the class (rather than the actual professional). So when deciding on graduates to select, medical schools will usually take the student who has had the best quality education, which happens to be the private school graduate.

So if you’re trying to decide between a larger university and a private one, don’t brush off the smaller school. I promise, it’s worth much more than it seems.