The Best Small Colleges In The Country
Selecting a college is an incredibly complex decision. Weighing factors such as prestige, distance from home and areas of expertise are all good ways to narrow the list, but there are some less prominent factors that contribute almost as significantly to how a school fits with a particular student. One of them is size. Big universities often a wide range of classes and departments and many options for social circles and extracurricular activities. Small colleges, on the other hand, provide a more intimate and tailored experience.
Both have their virtues, but for those looking for a small school, here is a list of some of the best in the country.
Wells College
With only 500 students, this small liberal arts school in Central New York offers an intimate and personalized experience. A daily tea break further emphasizes the sense of tightly-knit community with a lot in common. The school offers 20 majors and a scenic campus.
Amherst College
Amherst is regularly ranked among the best liberal arts schools in the country. It is also quite small with just over 1,500 students. However, the school has a clever way of feeling larger: any enrollee can attend classes at one of the five similar schools in the area. And for such a tiny school, there are plenty of activities - there are more than 100 social clubs and 30 academic disciplines.
Deep Springs
This is the tiniest of the bunch. The school hosts only 26 students and has a correspondingly pint-size staff. However, since its founding in 1917, Deep Springs has been one of the most revered and competitive colleges in the country - harder to get into even than Harvard, by many metrics. With an emphasis on farming and physical labor, Deep Springs aims to educate future leaders in a balanced environment. It is only a two-year institution - most students complete their education at some of the most prestigious schools in the country - and it is completely free to accepted students.
