First of all, let's just define what we're talking about when we talk about a small yeshiva. In Bircas HaTorah specifically, in our Beis Hamedrash we have about 70 people on any given day learning in the Beis, so the energy and the Kol Torah is a powerful experience and it's a powerful Beis Medrash. So when we talk about small, we're not talking about low energy, or anything like that. We're just talking about where you're not in an environment where there's one or two hundred guys your age, exactly like you, coming from your place, and you're just one of any number of people. It's more individualized in that sense. That's what we mean by a smaller yeshiva.  

So what are the pros and the cons of being in such an environment? 

Here in Bircas HaTorah about half of the talmidim are bochurim and half are avreichim. One of the clear advantages of being in such an environment is the fact that you're learning right next to somebody who has decided to make their life in learning. You as a bochur get to, on a daily basis, learn next to, interact with, and learn with people who have made their life’s mission limmud HaTorah. There is no underestimating the impact that this has on the Beis Medrash as a whole and every bochur as an individual.  

Another clear advantage of a smaller place is that nobody slips through the cracks. Usually what people mean by that is - a guy that is struggling or has an issue, they'll get paid attention to. That's for sure true - that anyone who needs that extra help, it's going to be seen and taken care of. But the chiddush is. That even people who are growing, guys who follow the rules, intelligent guys that are capable of keeping up in shiur, come up with chiddushim, are good at learning, etc.; even those guys aren't going to fall through the cracks.  

That means that very often that kind of guy can coast through yeshiva, you put them in an environment where there's another one hundred and fifty guys like them, they'll do OK and they'll go to the shiur. But the Rebbi won't be a won't be looking to see - what does that guy need? or where does he need to be pushed? How is he doing? It could be that he's going to be coasting through the whole year and he'll be OK and he'll look OK, but is he really fulfilling his potential?  

So what the smaller environment allows us to do is to take even and especially the stronger boys, the boys that are capable, and we can ask the question - is he really doing what he needs to be doing? Is he really growing the way that he needs to be growing and fulfilling his potential? The maggid shiur can pay attention to him, the Mashgiach can see what's going on with him, socially and learning. We make sure that he is actually growing and that he is taking his year or years in Eretz Yisrael and using them to his full advantage.  

A con in being in a smaller yeshiva is maybe the same point - that nobody falls through with the cracks. So if you're a guy that wants to go to a big place and nobody to pay attention to him - I just want to go and I want to learn and leave me alone, I'm not looking for all this self-development, then yes, maybe being in a small yeshiva is not necessarily the place for you. 

Another con maybe of being in a smaller place obviously is that you don't have a huge pool of guys in a social sense. If you're the kind of person that needs four or five different social scenes and cliques to choose from - that's something to think about. We have great guys here. They come from good families, balei middos tovos, and the guys really do get along. But if you're the kind of guy who sort of needs that huge pool of people to choose from, so that obviously is going to be something that they should think about whether when you weigh your pros and cons of where to go, that that's not really what you're going to get here.