Big School Life vs. IUE Life Food for Thought
10/9/2014
For those of you who don't know I graduated from Winchester Community High School in 2011. Winchester is a small school as I only graduated with 108 people in my class. For those of you who have not chose a college to attend and are still weighing your options, this post may be extremely helpful and give you insight others students may not be able to share with you. With that being said, when I started looking at college options my senior year I had several options. First, I had Anderson University a small private Christian University. I really liked Anderson and almost went to school there as I was considering continuing my volleyball career. The campus was small and welcoming which I loved. However, as my decision time grew closer, I decided not to attend Anderson primarily on the cost. Second, I had IUE. The cost was low, which was awesome, the campus was warm and welcoming which again was fantastic, but I just wasn't sold on the idea as my parents where not excited to let me move into an apartment and the small school atmosphere. Next, I had Ball State University where I ended up attending my first year. Ball State although still expensive was less expensive than Anderson, and was still close to home which was important to me and I could move into a dorm. My mother is an Alumni from Ball State and I had always considered going there since I was a kid. Although the campus is physically large, with a large student population, I figured I would adjust and still thrive as a small fish in a huge pond. Ultimately, I chose Ball State because I was afraid if I didn't I would be "missing out" on all of the epic college experiences that incoming freshman are excited to have.Do not get me wrong, I learned a lot, and I mean A LOT about myself and life my freshman year of college. First, big school can be fun, I will be the first to admit. There are times where circumstances become distracting. One of my personal experiences was that Ball State has the rec center where students go to socialize and workout at night. My neighbors were avid rec rats and constantly asking me to join them. Which sounded way better than studying for my history quiz I had in the morning. Not to mention the athletics, which again where fun but it was not always my social atmosphere of choice. The socialization of living in a dorm can be great and you can meet some new people which was fun. But, it did not always reflect well when it came to my academic studies. Second, in my opinion dorm life stinks. I lived in an all girls dorm, which was WAY to much estrogen in one building. Anyway, girls would occasionally fight in the middle of the night in my dorm, the RA would get involved and I would be up half the night dealing with the necessary situation that had little to do with me. Not to mention the showers full of hairballs that I had to share with 30 other girls on my floor, not so fun. Then there is the walking to and from class. In this aspect I was lucky, as my dorm was located close to the center of campus. However, there was a night class and I had to walk back to my dorm in the dark at 9 pm in the winter. Now keep in mind that Ball State does not always have a reputation for the safety of their students. The big schools may tell you about all the security they have to protect there students, such as the little blue lights that will call campus police. There was not one light one the way back to my dorm that I could've have used. They may also tell you about security checks in the dorms, there are people constantly sneaking in and out of the dorms and no one notices or does anything about it. Now for the class sizes. If you remember all the way back to the beginning of my post I graduated with 108 people. I had a class at Ball State that included 600 people. Yes 600, now be mindful that not all classes had 600 people in them. However, many had at least 200, especially your core classes that everyone has to take their freshman year. This was perhaps the biggest shock for me. My professors did not know me. I was simply number 147 on a list of 200. These professors have office hours you can attend to ask questions. I would attend the office hours to receive a semi complete answer before being rushed out the door for number 58 to be able to ask his questions. This is when I turned to the learning center. Ball State has a beautiful learning center. However, you must call to make an appointment to get tutoring services, and when you arrive, you may get a tutor that received a B in the course two years ago. Which let me tell you was major waste of time. So basically I was on my own. For all or most of my academic success.
Now you must be thinking, dang aren't you being kind of harsh? There are a lot of people who go to big schools and love it, which you are right there are. I was just not one of those people. I still have friends who LOVE the big school environment, but after my freshman year I learned I was not one of these people. Which leads me to the beginning of my sophomore year. Once I started to think about transferring I again thought of IUE and Anderson. Anderson, was a smaller campus which is what I knew I wanted, but my credits would not have transferred as well being a private school and it was still very expensive as well as still having to live in the dorms. Then there was IUE. I could move home, which didn't sounds the greatest, but it was cheaper, my credits transferred well, and the elementary program was growing and thriving. I ultimately chose to attend IUE, because duh, I am blogging for them right now. My experiences between IUE and Ball State are night and day difference. First, my professors know my name, and more than likely have my phone number. Just this morning I was texting a professor of mine with a question I had about an assignment. At Ball State I would have been on my own or been forced to send them an email and hope they replied. Second, at IUE I am saving a TON of money, but still earning a big ten IU degree on a small campus of about 4,500 students. I am earning the same elementary education degree as the IU students are currently earning at Bloomington for less money, and more personal attention. I can easily get tutoring services when needed on campus without and appointment and my GPA is the highest it has ever been. I am currently living back on my own out of my parents house, I attend campus events, such as the glow party, the homecoming bonfire, athletic events. I have met some amazing friends through my job as an ambassador in the admissions office, as well as through my education department. I am no longer a number, I am Megan and people know who I am again. I do not regret my year at Ball State, as I said earlier I learned a lot about myself. But I know that IUE was the right college choice for me even though it took me awhile to see it.
My moral of this long rant, don't be fooled into automatically thinking the big school life is definitely the right choice for you. It may be, but it may not be. Research colleges, visit, talk to students, and really consider what is important for you to have in your college experience for making that choice.
