Во-первых, колледж находится рядом.

Во-первых means firstly, first of all, or for one thing.

It is used to introduce the first point in a list or argument:

• Во-первых, колледж находится рядом.
• Во-вторых, обучение недорогое.

So it often signals that more reasons or points may follow.

It is a fixed expression, and in Russian these во-/в- + ordinal form expressions are written with a hyphen:

• во-первых = firstly
• во-вторых = secondly
• в-третьих = thirdly

You should usually learn these as set forms rather than trying to build them from scratch every time.

Because во-первых is an introductory word or phrase. In Russian, introductory elements are commonly set off by commas.

So:

• Во-первых, колледж находится рядом.

That comma is very normal and expected in writing.

Russian sometimes uses во instead of в for easier pronunciation. This often happens before certain consonant combinations.

So во-первых is just the standard form. You should memorize it exactly this way.

You will also see во in other common expressions, such as:

• во вторник
• во Франции

Колледж is in the nominative case because it is the subject of the sentence — the thing being talked about.

Here, the sentence is about the college and where it is located:

• колледж = the college

Also, колледж is a masculine singular noun, which is why the verb is also singular.

Находится comes from находиться, which means to be located, to be situated, or sometimes simply to be in a place.

So:

• колледж находится рядом = the college is located nearby

This sounds a bit more explicit or formal than simply saying колледж рядом.

Russian often uses находиться when talking about location, especially in slightly more formal or neutral statements.

Yes, находится has the reflexive ending -ся, but here it does not mean the college is doing something to itself.

In this verb, находиться is just the normal dictionary form meaning to be located or to be situated. In other words, you should treat it as a whole verb.

So in this sentence:

• находится = is located

It is 3rd person singular present tense, matching колледж.

In Russian, the verb to be is usually omitted in the present tense.

So English says:

• The college is nearby.

Russian can simply say:

• Колледж рядом.

In your sentence, however, there is still a verb: находится. That verb already carries the idea of is located, so no separate word for is is needed.

Рядом means nearby, close, or next to depending on context.

In this sentence, it means nearby:

• колледж находится рядом = the college is nearby

It can also be used with с plus the instrumental case when you say what something is near:

• Колледж находится рядом с домом.
• The college is next to / near the house.

So:

• рядом by itself = nearby
• рядом с + instrumental = next to / near something

Yes. Колледж рядом is perfectly natural and often more conversational.

Compare:

• Колледж рядом. = The college is nearby.
• Колледж находится рядом. = The college is located nearby.

The version with находится can sound a bit more formal, descriptive, or written. The shorter version is very common in everyday speech.

Yes, Russian word order is fairly flexible.

The neutral order here is:

• Во-первых, колледж находится рядом.

But other orders are possible, depending on emphasis:

• Во-первых, рядом находится колледж.
• Колледж, во-первых, находится рядом.

These alternatives may sound more marked or stylistic. For a learner, the original version is the safest and most natural.

A natural stress pattern is:

• во-пе́рвых, ко́лледж нахо́дится ря́дом

Key stresses:

• во-пе́рвых
• ко́лледж
• нахо́дится
• ря́дом

If you want to sound natural, make sure not to stress every syllable equally. Russian has strong word stress, and unstressed vowels are reduced in pronunciation.