Hi, my name is Rachel. I am a sophomore here at Suffolk University and am studying Communication. I grew up on the north shore in a city called Beverly, and I have always been a city girl.

When I began the college process my junior year of high school, I started out by deciding on a location, and I knew I wanted a city school. I decided to look at a few cities: New York, Tampa, and Boston. As I explored and learned about these cities, the answer in my mind became clearer. Boston was the perfect location for me.  Now the next step was to choose one of the many colleges within this great city.

So what made Suffolk University stand out in my mind among the many choices in Boston? Here are the top few aspects of this university that make it unique: location, class size, and community. Suffolk’s location is unbeatable. The academic buildings are literally smack-dab in the middle of Beacon Hill, and students who have housing are given the chance of living on the Hill in our Somerset (Miller Hall) dorm. Around the corner from Beacon Hill is the North End, which is rich with history and trends completely separate from the feel of the Hill. Directly next to Beacon Hill is the Boston Common, which leads to Tremont Street – the heart of downtown Boston. Of all the colleges in Boston, I cannot imagine being in a more prime, safe and exciting location than where Suffolk is, and what surrounds our school.

The class size at Suffolk really impressed me as a high school student looking at colleges, and it still continues to impress me. My classes have an average of 20-30 students, and my largest class consisted of only 40 students (not too bad for an introduction 101 course!). With these small class sizes, students not only get to know their classmates, but they also form relationships with their professors. Professors at Suffolk honestly and truly care about the well-being of their students. Professors often extend their office hours or give out extra contact information to make themselves more available to their students.

As Suffolk is located in the middle of Boston, I am always amazed at how often I see fellow Suffolk students I know while walking around campus. The feel of a real community is evident to anyone who walks through our campus. Through this close feeling of connection with your school, it is easy to get involved with the different programs at Suffolk and to expand your community even more. I am involved in two clubs right now, Program Council and the Suffolk Voice. Program Council is a fun and exciting club which plans, organizes and promotes events around Suffolk. The Suffolk Voice is a recently established online newspaper, full of creative writers who are given full freedom to write about anything they are passionate about.

Once all is said and done, I could not be happier to be a part of this Suffolk community. Boston is the best city I have ever been to, and I can’t imagine myself experiencing college anywhere other than where I am right now – here at Suffolk.