If you would've told me during the fall of my senior year of high school that in exactly one year, I would be at a college smaller than my high school, I would have told you that you were crazy. I always thought that I would end up at some huge Division I school with thousands of students and a football team with a huge fan following. When I met with my guidance counselor during my junior year of high school, I told her that I definitely wanted to go to a big school. Little did I know that I would end up at quite the opposite of a big school. My college, Baker University, has a little less than one thousand undergraduate students. My high school, New Rochelle High School, had nearly that many people per grade. I graduated high school with about 800 other students and my total school had about 3,200 students.
When I applied to Baker University, I was very hesitant at first, because I thought that going to a college smaller than my high school would make me feel like I was not really in college. I was scared I would miss out on the true college experience because of the size of the school.
This could not be further from the truth. Baker University is definitely where I am meant to be, and honestly, I cannot picture myself going to any other school. I love people's reactions when I tell them how many students go to my college. Their faces are absolutely priceless. They also tend to respond with things like, "You mean there are about a thousand people per class, right?" and, "How can you go to such a small school?" The real question is, how can people go to such big colleges? People's reactions when they see my high school and hear how big it is are equally as entertaining. People love to respond to my high school with things like, "That looks like a castle!" or, "That's basically a college."
I don't think that I would appreciate the small size of Baker University as much if I went to a small high school. The thing that I love most about the small size of Baker University is the small class sizes. They allow me to get to know my professors, focus and apply myself in each of my classes. I love comparing class sizes with my friends who go to Division I schools. It makes me love Baker even more when my friends tell me that some of their classes have upwards of 300 people in them, while my largest class has only 40 people. They like to make themselves feel better by saying that it must feel like I am still in high school, but I know that they just tell themselves this so that they do not regret their college decision.
Another thing I love about going to such a small school is that I know nearly everyone on campus. This is definitely something that I could not say in high school. During my high school graduation, I saw some of my fellow graduates that I had never seen before that day. This was weird for me, but it's good to know that that will not be such an issue come my graduation from Baker (a day that I never want to come). It's so nice walking around campus and saying, "Hi," to just about everyone I see. This definitely took some getting used to, because when I would walk the halls of my high school only occasionally would I see someone that I knew well enough to say, "Hi," too.
I never thought I would end up at a small liberal arts college in northeastern Kansas, but I am so glad I did. I wouldn't have it any other way. #BTID
