One evening, over a break, I was showing a hometown friend a photo of my school. She laughed and said, “You can fit your school into one photo?” I laughed it off, moving on our conversation to another topic. That night I thought to myself, wondering just why I had decided to go to such a small school. In all honesty, my school is small, from one end of campus to the other, it’s only half a mile, its width is only a half mile as well. We’re located in the middle of Central Illinois and you can see cornfields from the dorms and the nearest big city with a mall is a half hour away, we’re small.
I had gone to a pretty big high school and hated every minute of it. I felt crammed in the hallways, people always seemed to want to throw down, even if it was 8 a.m. When I begun applying to colleges, I applied to small schools. The majority of the schools that I did apply to were small private colleges. I visited 6 different campuses, but after finding the right one I dedicated myself.
Within the first year, I was already freaked out about this school. People who I had never even met were saying hello to me. I could wake up 10 minutes before class started and make it on time. Professors actually knew me and the President of the college came to my room during move in day to say hi to me. I knew that my friends who had chosen the bigger universities were not experiencing that at their schools.
I love my school, the people I met here have had such an impact on me and it’s only my sophomore year, I’ve met students from Japan, Nigeria and Spain. My best friends come from all over the country as well. The small class sizes that my school has, help me get the hands on experience I need and want to become a better graduate. I also love my small college because it’s small, there aren't a ton of people here and that means that the faculty and administration know you.
I love my school for all those reasons and more, I have such a unique experience here. The people I’ve met here have changed my life. I wouldn't have thought I would go Greek. If you had asked me in high school what I saw myself doing in college I probably would have said not a lot, but once you’re on a small campus and see all the opportunities that are just waiting for you to go and grab them, there’s no limit to what you can do. My small campus helps me network with people. My small campus helps me find who I am. My small campus is the reason why I’m excelling,and I would not have it any other way.
