3,039 #1

"It's small." Everything about it is small. Ohio Northern University is located in the small village of Ada, Ohio. Where the local population is a staggering 5,605. The question may simply be who would want to spend the "best four years of their life" in the middle of nowhere Ohio? After being here for exactly seven months I now see a quote that my dad use to use almost every week during my college search. "College is a match to be made, not a prize to be won." Now after hearing that time and time again I started to zone it out. I visited campus after campus only to realize my match seemed to be unfound. Until I stepped on campus at Ohio Northern University.
It takes a special kind of person to want to come to the middle of nowhere to spend their college years. Looking back on it I don't think I would have ever picked myself to be that kind of special. When I look around however I realize that I am where I need to be. Is it where I always wanted to be no. Am I where I need to be? Yes. A campus where you can walk from end to end in about 25 minutes. Where the idea of seeing brand new faces tends to fade away after one semester. Where you can become a Polar Bear in the matter of minutes.

Ada, Ohio most prominently known for its pride in Wilson Football and being the home factory of the NFL, and most of the NCAA. Driving in once you pass the bustling cities of either Lima, Ohio or Findley, Ohio you see cornfield after cornfield. If you are lucky maybe a cow. You remove yourself at least 25 minutes from any populated cities and about an hour or more from major cities like Columbus or Dayton.

Secluding yourself from so much of what is stereotypically considered the college experience is a risk. There are different motivations for every person that chooses the "it's small" school. The Community that is formed around a small school however is something that cannot be replicated. The ability to know the people on campus the people who you are going to remember as those who impacted your college years. That is what should be remembered about going to a school of 3,000 in a town of 5,000.