Pilot 16
The 172 is a bottom end tourer, four seats and a scaled up 152.
Essentially there are very few differences, neither are complex aircraft and both fly well.
The 152 is rather less stable than the 172 due to a lower wing loading and this is usually considered a good thing by instructors, as it makes the student work harder to trim the aircraft and thus become better at the skill.
I did my first 10 hours on 152 and then completed my PPL on a PA28 due to a change of location.
With hindsight the 152 did me a lot of good and then the PA28 was a very good stable platform for the cross country and solo work.
Maybe you could do a similar thing with the 152/172?
My view is that Cessnas are good aeroplanes and although I don't fly too many hours in a 172 I always find it like slipping a favourite pair of shoes on again, which is a compliment to the basic soundness of the design.
Best of luck in your course.