There’s a paradox in choosing a university.
Many students have a strong desire to attend a university where they can meet and get to know lots of people – and be known by lots of people. So they choose to attend a large university, not understanding this paradox: To know more people, and to be known by more people, choose a smaller university like Ouachita.
At the end of four years of college, chances are strong that a Ouachita graduate will know more people well – and be well-known by more people – than students who attend universities with thousands or tens-of-thousands of students.
Why? When a student spends four years on a residential campus with about 1,500 other students – living and learning and sharing the challenges and joys of college life together – he or she has opportunities to develop lifelong relationships at a deeper, more meaningful level. A student who attends a university with many thousands will likely live on campus only one year, often will recognize few if any of his or her classmates and will rarely find himself or herself in a professor’s home for dinner, much less in possession of that professor’s cell number when it’s time to ask for the all-important grad school or employment recommendations.
There are many reasons to choose Ouachita. Add to the list the desire to “Know. And Be Known.”
Here’s how some of our students expressed this during their first semester on campus:
“Ouachita provides the friends and professors who become our constant accountability partners, encouragers and teachers. Here, we are taught how to be a disciple in our world today, combining both our love for Christ and our love for academics. As I sit here, exactly one month into my life as a Ouachita student, I am overwhelmed with how much I learn every single day, how much I thought I knew but didn’t, and how much Ouachita has done for me that exceeded all my needs and expectations.” — Addy
“The first attribute of Ouachita that drew me to the school was its size. I wanted a school where I could feel connected to my classmates and would know most of the people I see around campus. I wanted a school where I could make relationships with my teachers that would last for a lifetime. I wanted a school where class would not just be a teacher lecturing for an hour but we could have meaningful classroom discussion that best fits my learning style. I wanted a school where I can have opportunities to practice my skills and build my resume starting in my freshman year. I wanted a school where I am not just a number, but I mean something to both the school and to the professors. Ouachita is a school which offers all those things.” — Caleb
Keldon Henley is vice president for institutional advancement at Ouachita Baptist University.