Doylestown, PA: When I first started considering colleges, I had no idea what to look for. I knew I wanted to work with animals, but I wasn’t sure what kind until I started horseback riding. So, I began researching equestrian colleges. One night I was browsing through some college sites when I found Delaware Valley College. I couldn’t believe my eyes. My excitement started building as I discovered all kinds of classes I could take. When I had my mom look at the site, she asked which class I would want to take. She laughed when I said “Can’t I take all of them?”

Delaware Valley College sits on 574 acres in suburban Doylestown, Pennsylvania. It is a small private college with 1,700 students. Known for agriculture and science, it also offers business courses ­including accounting, entrepreneurship, and marketing. There are 25 majors to choose from, including small animal science, conservation and wildlife management, and equine science. The nice part of it being a small college is that they have small classes with as few as 15 in a class. Their mascot is the ram and their nickname is the Aggies.

I went to Del Val for its open house. Everyone we talked to was very helpful, answered our questions, and was very kind. We toured the campus and found benches, flowers, and trees everywhere. I could see myself sitting there doing course work. Later, we took a bus tour and learned that a train stops at the campus that you can take to different places. I ­didn’t realize how big the campus was until then. My favorite spots were definitely the equestrian center and the herb gardens. ­The stadium was very nice too. They have seventeen sports and over 60 clubs and ­organizations.

Delaware Valley is an amazing college. What I like most is the many courses that are offered. I also like the small class sizes and overall atmosphere of the campus. The only aspect I did not like was that freshmen are not supposed to leave the campus and are not permitted to have cars.

Overall, Delaware Valley is a great college, and I would highly recommend it to anyone looking for agriculture, science, or even business. I also recommend that you attend an open house. When I asked about financial aid, I found that 98 percent of freshmen receive aid. Their website is delval.edu.

Go Aggies!