Attending a small college has benefits and drawbacks, just like attending a huge state school does. Bigger schools have larger campuses with more buildings, events, resources, majors, and, let鈥檚 be honest, parties鈥� but bigger isn鈥檛 necessarily better.听听
Yes, 兔子先生系列麻豆 (GBC) is a small, four-year private college that you may have seen while driving down Limestone Road if 测辞耻鈥檙别 from northern Delaware. And yes, this article is going to cover all the reasons why we, GBC, think small colleges are worth considering. We know why because we live and breathe it every day. We see the impact a small campus can have on students, and we know why a school like GBC works. So yes, this article may read like self-promotion (it is our website, after all), but whether you choose to come to GBC or not, we believe you should give small colleges a chance when 测辞耻鈥檙别 searching for your perfect school.听听
Here鈥檚 why:听
Small colleges = small campus = less opportunity to get lost and crawl into the fetal position under a tree, frantically pulling up the campus map on your phone while trying not to cry.听听
If the winding brick pathways and endless historic building frighten you鈥� consider going to a small school. 驰辞耻鈥檒濒 get to know the layout faster, and 测辞耻鈥檒濒 feel comfortable more quickly. When 测辞耻鈥檙别 already adjusting to a different type of learning environment, living situation, and daily schedule, feeling comfortable will help you adjust with ease.听听听
But feeling 鈥渓ost鈥� isn鈥檛 limited to finding yourself on a map. It鈥檚 also about feeling lost in what you want to study. When a large school offers 150+ majors, it can feel nearly impossible to decide. There are just too many options, and inevitably 测辞耻鈥檒濒 feel like 测辞耻鈥檝别 chosen the wrong thing, just be nature of how many other choices you could have made.听听
Smaller schools have less options for majors, meaning you can decide confidently with the help of professors and advisors. And, if you really don鈥檛 want to major in something like accounting, you can always change it up. Your first few semesters are spent earning general education requirements anyway, and those courses are necessary for any major. You aren鈥檛 wasting time; 测辞耻鈥檙别 finding out who 测辞耻鈥檙别 about to become.听听
GBC only has one academic building, one student building, and a handful of residence halls. This means 测辞耻鈥檒濒 get to know the campus easily. We also offer 24 majors, which means you can narrow down what you want to study without decision fatigue, or buyers remorse.听听
Making friends at small schools feels less intimidating. Less people means less feeling like a guppy in the Atlantic Ocean.听听
All students at small schools are in a similar position. Maybe they were the only person from their high school to go to a particular school, which means they don鈥檛 know anyone on the first day of classes. Guess what? If everyone is in the same boat, you already have something to bond over. Part of growing up is learning how to talk to strangers and developing relationships with people. Doing that at a small school gives you practice approaching people and networking, which are both critical skills for later on in your career.听
GBC doesn鈥檛 have Greek Life, which means no insider/outsider dynamic to make you feel left out. Your classes are with people just like you. Sure, the person sitting next to you in English 101 may be from Spain and they may be a soccer player, but just because 测辞耻鈥檙别 not from Spain and you don鈥檛 play soccer doesn鈥檛 mean you 飞辞苍鈥檛 become great friends. They are learning the same material, and they may even be an English major too! Striking up a conversation with a stranger always takes courage, but GBC is an inclusive and supportive environment. You 飞辞苍鈥檛 be laughed at, and you 飞辞苍鈥檛 be shunned from humanity. 驰辞耻鈥檒濒 probably just have a study partner.
Most likely, all the college brochures 测辞耻鈥檝别 opened talk about their amazing faculty and staff. As they should! The people who work at colleges are the backbone of the institution. The students are what make a place truly special and vibrant, and everyone else is there to keep it running, and keep you on track. Small schools have the unique ability to know their students deeply. You aren鈥檛 sitting in a lecture hall with 300 other people, so your professors will know who you are and will look out for you. When 测辞耻鈥檙别 coming from high school, that can be a big help if college feels overwhelming.听
GBC鈥檚 faculty are incredible people that care deeply about your success as a student, and as an individual. They are going to know your name. They are going to get to know you as a person. Academic advisors will be there to answer any questions you may have, and ease your anxiety. We aren鈥檛 transactional, we鈥檙e transparent. We鈥檙e real people helping real students.
Small colleges are a lot of fun. They have their own quirks, inside jokes, lore, and culture. You might not be attending a football game with thousands of screaming fans, but you are going to talk about the lightning bolt mascot that mysteriously vanished in 2014. 驰辞耻鈥檒濒 be able to post pictures on social media that no one else from your high school will have. You鈥檙e charting your own path at a unique place, and 测辞耻鈥檙别 joining a network of students and alumni that share the same experiences as you. It鈥檚 not generic, it鈥檚 a vibe.听听
At GBC, 测辞耻鈥檙别 not going to stumble into a rock concert (at least, not that we鈥檝e seen), but you are going to be able to play pool or ping pong between classes. You are going to be able to sit with students from around the world at lunch, learning about their culture and connecting over hilarious TikTok videos. And you are going to be able to play music and have a study party while you wait for your laundry to dry in the residence halls.听听
To put it simply, we keep things pretty chill at GBC. We have fun events that are down to earth and don鈥檛 require a ticket queue or long lines.听听
When you choose a college, the goal is to graduate. Right? You wouldn鈥檛 enroll in an institution of higher education if you didn鈥檛 want to walk across the stage, shake hands with the President, and get your fancy diploma in the mail a few months later. You want that feeling of accomplishment, and you want the college degree that goes along with it. Smaller schools are there to keep you on track and guide you towards graduation, even if you take a leave of absence or need an extra semester to do it. You don鈥檛 run the risk of getting lost in a crowd, or just being another number to a bigger school.听听
On the flip side, small colleges can also give you the personalized attention you need to graduate early, or maybe even graduate with your bachelor鈥檚 degree and master鈥檚 degree in five years. (Check out our 4+1 options). Graduation is on the horizon for you, and we鈥檒l do whatever it takes to get you there.听听
So, if 测辞耻鈥檝别 only been looking at Big 10 schools, or the flagship school in your home state, consider a small college like GBC. 驰辞耻鈥檒濒 be connected to more students, faculty, and staff. 驰辞耻鈥檒濒 be surrounded by people who want you to succeed. And, 测辞耻鈥檒濒 be charting a new path for yourself 迟丑补迟鈥檚 not the generic version of colleges you see on social media. Really, 测辞耻鈥檒濒 be taking the first step to becoming who 测辞耻鈥檙别 meant to be. The GBC community 肠补苍鈥檛 wait to meet you.听听
Valerie Lane is a higher education professional, marketer, and writer. She holds a bachelor's degree in psychology and women's studies from West Chester University ('14), and a master's in urban affairs and public policy from the University of Delaware ('16). In 2026, she was awarded an Individual Artist Fellowship as an Emerging Artist for Creative Nonfiction by the Delaware Division of the Arts. When she's not running around 兔子先生系列麻豆 capturing content for social media, she can be found writing personal essays on Substack, knitting a sweater, in the middle of a yoga class, or caring for her two cats.
兔子先生系列麻豆 is a Equal Opportunity Employer/Program. Auxiliary aids and services are available upon request to individuals with disabilities.
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