Washington University is not considered a large university—look it up on any college search website and you’ll find the terms “mid-size,” “medium” and “the middle ground” being thrown around about the number students here. One of the University’s biggest pulls is that it can have both the feel of a smaller college and appeal of a larger student body. That rhetoric is great at the surface level and does hold true for the most part, but regardless of what admissions officers and college websites tell you, it’s hard not to feel like a descriptor that barely registers the scale at Wash. U.

Coming from a small private school, these first few weeks have been incredibly overwhelming for me. My entire high school could fit into Brown 100 for a Calculus II lecture, and there were more people taking the first Calculus II exam than there were at my entire school, which I attended from age 3 through 12th grade. I’m used to knowing everyone in my grade and being able to get noticed easily for the work I do. Here at Wash. U., I’ve had to adapt to larger class sizes, competing to participate in class and having to sit in lectures without the ability to ask questions.

But I’m slowly finding the extracurricular activities I want to join, connecting with different faculty members and meeting a lot of upperclassmen. I am starting to feel less like an ant and more like individual: someone who potentially matters here.

Every school has its own set of mechanisms to combat the issue of fitting in and avoiding feeling like a statistic. Whether it be seminars, mentors in dorms, freshman programming or sophisticated mentoring systems, any college will find some way to at least try to include its students. But the core of what makes Wash. U. an inclusive and inviting campus is simply the people and friendly environment.

One could certainly argue that Wash. U. isn’t the only place like this, but coming from the Northeast and having visited different colleges on the East Coast, Wash. U. is uniquely amicable. It was the only school I visited where students shouted out to the tour groups that their University was awesome. People are naturally outgoing here and really take the time to talk to you. Every student leader I have met has become a friend here, including my L.A.U.N.C.H. pre-orientation program leaders, who became “Mom and Dad” after three days at a camp in the middle of Missouri. They were so honest and open about themselves; I felt immediately at home. Our L.A.U.N.C.H. family decided to do a talent show act together and we made a spectacle of ourselves, largely thanks to my “dad”’s encouragement and willingness to make a fool of himself.

The resident advisers and Washington University Student Associates for my floor are not simply trying to polish their resumes or reap the benefits of their positions—they genuinely like being with us, and it shows day in and day out. It hasn’t been a month yet, and I’m on a hug-first basis with all four of them. My WUSAs always make sure to say hello on campus and introduce us to their friends. My RAs are always posting on our floor’s Facebook group, hanging out with us and even buying us donuts. There are also people willing to engage you on an intellectually equal level wherever you are. Students care about each other on a human level, not just in the classroom.

So how does this Wash. U. personality apply to the “large student body” dilemma? It’s as simple as feeling accepted. Once I felt like I had people in my corner, I started feeling at ease here. That level of comfort is something that took me almost two years to find at my high school. The people at this University have empowered me to become involved because everyone here is already engaged in the community. At Wash. U., you are encouraged and in some ways expected to dedicate yourself to things that you love doing.

On a typical Wash. U. tour, the leader will gush about the non-cutthroat academic environment here, the fantastic food, the professors that care about their students and the engaged student body. But they say that at a lot of other universities too. What’s really central to Wash. U.’s identity is a student body that encourages each other to thrive and drives endlessly to see that we collectively succeed in doing so.