There are benefits to attending a small college or a big college, and with those benefits come drawbacks as well. Some people thrive in one environment while others suffer, but here are some of the pros and cons of both.
Small College:
You Know Everybody
Pro: Freshman year it’s super easy to make friends because you keep running into the same people all the time
Con: Junior/Senior year you’ve cut ties with some people and you’re really tired of seeing your former friends all the time…everywhere…and you can’t get away.
Every building on campus is within walking distance
Pro: If you live on campus, you can walk to every building on campus within just a few minutes, and sometimes, the classroom buildings are right outside your front door (perfect for early classes).
Con: If you live on campus, you really have no excuse for being late to class since everything is so condensed.
Small Class Sizes
Pro: You have more personal relationships with your teachers and classmates. Professors usually know their students’ names fairly quickly, especially once you declare your major and get set in the same classes with most of the same people.
Con: It’s almost impossible to skip class without being noticed, so you have to have almost perfect attendance even in easy classes.
Community/Small Town Feel
Pros: You get to hear the latest gossip on everyone that you know.
Cons: You’re probably a subject to be gossiped about.
Big College:
Lots of People
Pros: You have plenty of potential friends, and you’re able to avoid people that you don’t prefer.
Cons: Class sizes can range from small 30 student classes to hundreds of people in a lecture hall, so student-teacher ratio can vary drastically.
Sports
Pros: The energy of a big college on game day is incredible, especially when your team is winning!
Cons: Parking is difficult to find on a normal day, so game day makes it almost impossible to find a parking spot on campus. It also brings even more people to campus, so, again, not ideal for non-people people.
Events/Groups
Pros: There are plenty of groups like sororities, fraternities, and clubs to choose from, so you’d always have something to do.
Cons: With there always being something to do besides homework, sometimes college life can get in the way of learning. Also, with so many options to choose from, there can be almost too many options for activities and not enough time.
There are numerous factors that can go into selecting a college as a freshman or as a transfer student. The best tip I can give is for you to really evaluate what suits your personality best and then use some of these pros and cons to help align your preferences. So whether you go big or go small – stay true to yourself and soak up every minute!