[PhoenixAzul]

I am so glad that I went where I did. Otterbein was a place that I felt cared for by my teachers, peers, and administrators. That I was offered way more financial aid there than at PSU or Bethany or any of the other colleges I applied to was just the icing on the cake.

Coming out of a not-so-great high school, a small school provided me a place to fill in the gaps, to ask questions, to get help. I don't think that I had the guts for that if I had gone to a big state school.

When I graduated and went to the University of Glasgow for my graduate work, I was ready to be in a big university. I had the writing skills, research skills, and confidence to do well without hand-holding, because my small liberal arts college had taught me.

Would a state school have been cheaper? Maybe. Would I have done as well? Nope.