When most people think of college, they think of big state schools, crazy football games, dozens of Greek life organizations, and hundreds of different kinds of majors. People can ask, “Where are you going to school?” and most answers will result in an “Oh! I’ve heard of that school!” When buying college apparel, there’s every piece of clothing imaginable with the college’s name and/or logo on it, and it seems like there can never be enough day-rage or game day Instagram posts every Saturday throughout the semester.

My university is not like most well-known universities or colleges. I go to a school called The University of Sciences in Philadelphia. Anytime someone asked me where I was going to school, I would get a lot of blank stares because my school isn’t a very big or even widely known school. Just as the name says, my school is specific to science-only majors, but has some math majors too. We have 20 bachelor programs, 15 masters programs, and 11 PhD programs; our most popular PhD programs are Occupation Therapy, Physical Therapy, and Pharmacy (we even used to be called The Philadelphia College of Pharmacy). We don’t have a football team, we only have 14 total male, female, and co-ed Greek organizations, and our undergraduate and graduate population is about 2600 students, with about 2200 students in undergraduate programs, and about 400 in the graduate programs.

I knew when I committed to going to this school that my “college experience” would not be a normal one. I already know I’m going to be at the same college for 6 years because of my program. I know that my workload is going to be more intense since I’m starting graduate school as a fourth year instead of a fifth year. I know I will never go to a “USciences Devils” football game in my college career. I’ve become accustomed to the campus being deserted on the weekends because everyone goes home. I’ve adjusted to my campus being completely intertwined in the city streets of Philadelphia. And as different as my school may be, I love how unconventional it really is.

I love how despite the school’s size, I feel like I still meet and see new people every day. I love that although I live in a city, there’s still grass on the ground and trees that change colors with the seasons. And I love that even though our majors are limited to science and math, there are dozens of different kinds of people, who come from all walks of life. Many people might not know about my school, and our population may be small, but I do not regret going to an unconventional university. I feel like going to The University of the Sciences has broadened my horizons more than any other well-known, big state school could have. In 6 years, when I finally finish my time here, I can’t wait to hit the ground running and start my career as a physical therapist. I know that because I went to a school like USciences, I will be well prepared for my career and for the rest of my life, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.