Many of my friends attend large universities. Some of them have anywhere from 40,000 to 90,000 students. But my university? My university has a mere 10,000 students, which is still a large amount of students, but it's hardly anything compared to a school like Penn State, for example, who are just shy of 100,000 students this year. I am currently in my third year at my school, Saginaw Valley State University, and there was a point in time where I'd wish I had chosen a larger school because the more time I spend here, the smaller my school seems to get. But I eventually came to love SVSU and I am no longer envious of my friends who attend larger schools.
You can probably guess what I'm about to say next. Yup, small class sizes. This seems to be the number one reason that people advertise to choose a smaller college. Everyone has heard it a million times, even I am tired of hearing it. And to be completely honest, there's a part of me that hates having smaller class sizes because I'm not a very big people-person and I absolutely hate giving presentations or doing any public speaking whatsoever. There is a lot more of that happening when you have a smaller class size.
With that being said, having a smaller class size is also very helpful, especially in the long run for your grades. You will (hopefully) form a good relationship with your professor, which in turn will make you more comfortable to go to them and ask questions. It's so nice being close with my professors, because I can talk to them about anything, joke around with them, or strike up a conversation if I see them around campus. Professors can be great references for future jobs and many of them have great networking opportunities that they are more than willing to help you with.
Along with seeing many of my professors around campus, I also run into someone I know everywhere I go. With being a busy college student, juggling homework and working seven days a week, it's hard to make time to hangout with my friends. Being able to run into them often on campus is great. It gives us a chance to catch up even if it's just for a minute. Also, running into people you had a class with in a previous semester gives you the chance to reconnect with them and stay friends even though you don't have classes together anymore.
One thing that I absolutely love about going to a small university is having no TA's (teacher's assistant). Every single class at SVSU is taught by the actual professor, not some graduate student who is learning how to be a professor. I get that they have to learn somehow, but when I am spending thousands of dollars to take a class, I want it to be taught by the actual professor so I can be confident that I am getting the best education possible.
Another perk of attending a small university is how short of a walk we have to classes. I have friends at larger universities who walk miles to one class. Not only would that suck big time during a nice winter blizzard or pouring rain, but even on a nice 70 degree day I would still dread it, but hey, that's just me. We are even more spoiled at SVSU too because most of our buildings are connected. So not only do I have to walk in the rain or snow for minimally 10 minutes, I could walk almost my entire commute indoors.
Out of everything though, I have to say that while attending SVSU, I have never felt like I was just a number. I have always felt like I mattered. Whenever I have a question about registration, financial aid, or buying books, I have always received a timely and helpful response, even when there are hundreds of students asking the same questions.
This is why I am grateful for my small university and why I'm proud to be an SVSU Cardinal!
