  We propose a new boundary-driven phase transition associated with vortex
nucleation in mesoscopic superconductors (of size of the order of, or larger
than, the penetration depth). We derive the rescaling equations and we show
that boundary effects associated with vortex nucleation lowers the conventional
transition temperature in mesoscopic superconductors by an amount which is a
function of the size of the superconductor. This result explains recent
experiments in small superconductors where it was found that the transition
temperature depends on the size of the system and is lower than the critical
Berezinsk\u{i}-Kosterlitz-Thouless temperature.
