As textbooks start to close and the stresses of school begin fade away, the countdown is close to the end and the 12 long-awaited weeks of summer are right around the corner. Although some students begin to pack up for vacations or make plans with friends weeks before the 3-month break, others make the decision to spend the next four years of college studying in a tiny town or one of the largest cities in the country.

While students primarily focus on academics when choosing colleges, according to Carl Krause, college and career counselor, the size of their school and classes can have an effect on their academic experiences during their four years of undergraduate school.

“Students should look for the educational experience inside the classroom,” Krause said. “A student that likes personal attention and discussion and looks at big school with more than 100 students per class, sometimes may not do as well because that’s not what they’re used to or what they like.”

Wanting to have the experience of attending a school about 33 times the size of the high school and 3 times of Lake Zurich, Elizabeth Gilbert, senior and prospective Ohio State University student, says she is excited to be a part of the nearly 65,000 student college.

“I think the biggest thing when I was going through the process – to realize that I was going to such a big school – would be that it mostly reflects my confidence and my ability to fit in amongst so many different people,” Gilbert said. “There’s going to be a lot of people doing a lot of different majors and from a lot of different backgrounds going to Ohio State University. There will be things that unite us, like the school spirit and we’ll all be on the same campus, but I know how to reach out to people.”

Though the university’s campus and morale continue to bring generations of students together, Gilbert says she will continue to connect with her peers on a more personal level, as she pursues an exclusive data analytics program of only 50 students.

“I knew that if I were to go into a field that is so specific and new, that only schools that are big enough to have my specific major will have it to the degree of opportunities and professors or research that I’m interested in,” Gilbert said. “I know how to make a big school feel small. I know who I am. I know what I’m interested in. I just had the confidence that I think I need to make a school of 65,000 students feel like home and find my niche in it.”

While the unique field of study and advanced pieces of technology in the large university is a necessity for Gilbert’s learning experience, students like Connor Doheny, senior and prospective student at Carthage College, prefer a tight-knit campus only one-and-a-half times bigger than the high school.

“I focused a lot on academics when picking where I wanted to go because I like smaller classes, but I also decided based on what campus I felt most comfortable at,” Doheny said. “I’m playing football there for the next few years and I like the coaches a lot better than coaches from different schools. I feel more comfortable starting off at Carthage knowing I’ll have my coaches and a few good friends.”

Although the college decision process is long and difficult at times, taking majors, activities, and sports into careful consideration, most students take pride in their university, big or small, at the end of the year, according to Gilbert and Doheny. Even though all the hard work of choosing a new school is over, Krause still advises prospective college students to take their decision-making process personally and wisely.

“I don’t want students to only look at ‘name-brand’ schools. Just because you haven’t heard of the school doesn’t mean it’s not a good school. A good school for me doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a good school for everybody else,” Krause said.  “I think students really need to open their eyes, really know what’s important to them, and search out that good fit. A good student is going to do well wherever they go. They just need to figure out where they feel most comfortable.”