One of the main reasons I decided to attend the University of Tulsa is the fact that I knew I would be receiving a quality education. I knew that gaining a degree here would be a valuable asset. I knew that coming here would mean that I would not be able to experience a strong state school vibe, but that was a risk I was willing to take. You have to make sacrifices in life, and I decided that it is better worth my time to attend TU rather than to go to a less academically prestigious state school. During my time here, I have realized the advantages to coming to TU. Being at a small school like TU gives you a smaller class size, which in return makes the class aura feel more intense, more exclusive. Having a small class size really allows you to feel immersed in the classroom. Being here at TU is unique because you can build solid relationships with professors because of the small student to faculty ratio. Although it may seem like a disadvantage to having a smaller student body, it is almost more of an advantage because you are able to build close relationships with the students that take similar classes as you. This can help when it comes to studying for exams. While the prestigious degree gained here at TU is a rewarding accomplishment that will set you up for the future, gaining this degree is easier said than done. Gaining a degree here is challenging. The academic schedules here are difficult and rigorous. It takes a lot of hard work, diligence, and time management to obtain a degree here. For a lot of people, including myself, the quality of academics here at TU was a huge step up from high school academics. 
During my first semester of freshman year here, I took chemistry. This was a difficult class for me because the last chemistry class I had in high school was my sophomore year in high school. There were things we were doing at the beginning of the year in the chemistry class here that I never even went over during my chemistry class in high school. This experience was hard for me, but just like new challenges in life, you must adapt to the changes. The adaptation to changes like this example are the challenges that we set out for when we decided to attend this university. Having these challenges now will make it so much easier for us to endeavor career challenges in future because we were already prepared for it here. And for that, I am thankful.