Students who attend Bowling Green State University’s Firelands College have the chance to gain a solid education while experiencing life within a close knit community.

While the majority of BGSU students attend the main campus, about 2,500 of the University’s 19,000 students attend classes at Firelands College, according to the University’s website.

According to Director of Marketing and Student Relations, Dean Schnurr, Firelands College began offering solely associate degrees in 1968 and began offering bachelor’s degrees in conjunction with other colleges around 12 years ago.

Schnurr said that the college now offers nine complete bachelor’s degrees, along with 15 associate degrees with 22 areas of specialization. Firelands also has two master’s programs.

Schnurr also said that while a significant amount of students attend Firelands in order to “complete core classes” before transferring to another university, many of the attendees begin and complete their degrees on the campus without switching schools.

Alex Wheeler, who graduated from Firelands College in 2012, said that she attended a vocational school in Milan, Ohio, titled EHOVE, while still in high school. She said that gaining college credit through EHOVE made the transition to college much easier. Wheeler also said she liked the fact that her hometown of Milan was close to the Firelands campus, which was a deciding factor in her choice to attend the school.

Rachel Cummings is a current student at Firelands and began attending in 2011. Also from Milan, Cummings said that she liked the proximity of Firelands to her home. She said that she plans to complete her degree at Firelands and that she has had an overall positive experience there.

Cummings said that one of her favorite aspects of the school is that the faculty and staff are close and personable with students. According the Firelands website, the student to faculty ratio is 18:1 compared with main campus’ 20:1 ratio.

Travis Skelly is currently a student at the University’s main campus. He began attending Firelands in 2011, pursuing a psychology degree. Skelly said that he transferred because while Firelands offered most of his major classes, there were three or four that were only available through the main campus.

As for his overall experience with Firelands College, Skelly said that some of the best qualities of the campus include the smaller class sizes and “more access with professors.” He also said that there is an “open door policy” with professors and that the environment of the campus is “intimate” and personal. Skelly said that his time at Firelands helped him “really enjoy learning.”