I'd try brother's, I have had 2, they sew well, they are lightweight, and extremely user friendly. The only issue i had was probably with my first one i had tension issues, but most of it was user error, and i used wrong thread for the machine, brothers do not really like coats and clarks. I got a second one with more features, and i love the way it sews, better than my first one which was real basic for beginners. I also have a babylock too that i love. Don't have a small one though, but if the quality is the same I wouldn't hesitate to buy another one. 500 just seems like a lot of money for something you will probably just use for class, unless it will be your main machine. I only paid 130 for my brother XL-3500i and have never regretted it. Had it for 5 years, and still going strong, only had it serviced/cleaned once. Never had any issues with it