<p>Is it better to attend a challenging school ,through which you learn more and impress
admission counselors (little fish in a big pond), or to attend a non-challenging one, where you maintain a high GPA and receive personal attention from teachers? </p>
<p>Which college environment is better - Competitive or Non-Competitive?</p>
<p>Hmm, people say it’s not so much what you learn but who you meet and the connections you make, but that holds true for grad school too so I don’t really know. I guess it’s a little like B in AP vs. A in non AP- you want to get the high GPA at the competitive school.</p>
<p>I personally think that a more competitive high school will give you an advantage - provided, of course, that you will be able to manage the courseload and works. That’s something personal that you’ll have to assess for yourself. But if you do take the risk and end up doing well in a more competitive school, that will definitely say something to the admissions committee.</p>
<p>I come from arguably the #1 public high school in my state, and we’ve had a lot of college admissions people come and visit us, and interviewers say to me: “Oh, we know you’re at one of the most academically challenging schools in the state.” I definitely think my choice to go here paid off.</p>
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<p>I think that’s an apt comparison. </p>
<p>But, honestly, it depends on the person–some people just need to be dominating in their circle, whereas others enjoy being surrounded by kids of their own (or greater) caliber.</p>