As a senior, life at Hills is filled with the stress of college essays, ACTs, and teacher recommendation letters. But should you apply to Penn State or Franklin and Marshall University? When deciding what colleges to apply for and what school you eventually want to attend, a huge factor is the size of the enrollment at the college. For the sake of this article, a small school is one with less than 5,000 students, while a large school has over 15,000 students. 

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“My sister goes to Rutgers, which is a pretty big school and I think she likes it. I would want to go to a big school just because of the sporting events,” said Matt Goldman, a senior at Hills. Goldman noted that larger colleges have more exciting and more spirited athletic events. In addition, there are more extracurricular activities and possible majors available due to the increase in budget. 

“I think a small school would have many advantages. I feel like you get to know everybody and a smaller school creates a closer community,” said Hills senior Christina Kim, the Trailblazer’s Life and Style Editor. At a small school, you are more likely to know everyone by the time you are a senior. In addition, camaraderie is usually stronger at smaller colleges. But, attending a smaller college usually means the college provides fewer facilities and there are fewer options for majors. 

When asked about the cons of going to a large college, Hills senior Ryan Brodsky said, “I just wouldn’t want to go to a school where all I had to sit through was giant lecture halls.” With larger colleges, it is common to have lecture halls where there can be upwards of one hundred students. In these classes, you will lose out on personal help from the teacher along with a more personalized system of learning. 

When choosing a college this spring or in future years consider the differences between a small and big college. Depending on your major and the experience you want to have a college the difference between a small and big school can mean a lot.