I too get caught up in the prestige and desire to attend a school that looks impressive on the outside. Our society shoves it down our throats that we NEED to do one thing in order to be successful, we NEED to be innovative leaders, and if you don’t follow this specific path then your worth is somehow less.
I am currently in the process of waiting for admission responses from various universities, which is incredibly stressful. But I wanted to share with you something that my dad has reflected on since being in school. My dad went to both Stanford and Harvard, Stanford for undergrad and Harvard for law school. He initially started out at UC Davis, a far less competitive university, and transferred to Stanford after his second year. And you know what he told me?
He said that the level of difficulty and information was exactly the same at Davis as it was at Stanford.
The first time he told me this it shocked me because it went against everything I had initially known. “What do you mean Davis is just as difficult??? Everyone knows that Stanford is incredibly rigorous!!” But the more I thought about it, the more it sank in. Sure Stanford is far more prestigious, but at the end of the day what really matters is the education you receive, and if you’re able to utilize that knowledge to build a career. College is supposed to be some of the best years of your life, and I think that you should do what YOU think is best, regardless of prestige level.
Plus, if you’re considering graduate school, being the best possible student at a smaller university looks better than drowning in a top school. There is actually a very good book about this, called “David and Goliath” by author Malcolm Gladwell. I would highly recommend you look into it. Just don’t give up, work hard, and make the best of your college years.