You heave your duffel bag over your shoulder, making your first steps upon the green before you.  Freedom has never tasted so good.  It seems that the long, hard work in high school has finally paid off as you imagine the exciting, new adventures before you. Football games, new people, parties, a life that is entirely your own to create.

But imagine this: after the first few months of college you begin to recognize most faces that pass by in the hallway.  No one is painting their face blue at the football games, and you long for more excitement and ground to cover.  Only in a short time this fantastic adventure you imagined has turned into your worst nightmare and you’re repeating high school all over again.

The above experience should never befall any individual, but is all too common at small colleges.  Small colleges don’t offer the same possibility for endless opportunities and expanses of people to meet as big colleges do.  After attending high school it seems that people would want something grander, and more exciting out of their life.

Big colleges prepare students more for the real world, in which there are always unfamiliar faces, and they must take charge and control of their life.  Although this takes some assertiveness on the students part, it is a necessary life skill to be independent and not be coddled by the college.

Not to say that at big colleges students will feel overwhelmed or not make close friends.  Big colleges have a way of making things smaller by housing, rooming college students with similar interests together. The college will put students in the same classes together, so that eventually they can recognize and make close friends with those around them, even though there are 20,000 to 30,000 other students out there.

When interviewing for a job, big colleges often have larger name recognition. Many people have great respect for the big colleges out there, and will be more likely to hire the person whose college they recognize.

Educationally, students at big colleges have a greater choice at the breadth of curriculum.  There is more faculty and more things that they are able to offer their students.  Many colleges have broad majors, but the bigger the school, the more finite classes the school will offer within that particular major.  Also at bigger schools they may have more equipment making research possible that wouldn’t be available at a small school.

When choosing a college, going to a larger university offers limitless opportunities with seemingly unlimited amounts of people.  Truly, at a large university the sky is the limit.  There are always exciting, new possibilities awaiting and adventures to be played out.  At a large college, people can finally break through their shell of high school and begin living their own life exactly as they’ve always dreamed.