Me and my three best friends have been planning to go to college together since last year. We first decided on Boston, aiming for boston college, boston university, etc. However, with low sat scores and gpa’s, my friends shifted direction to pennsylvania and aimed for drexel and temple. My gpa, sat score, essay, etc are all above my friends and I feel like I have a shot at some of my dream colleges such as nyu, university of illinois urbana champaign, university of washington, and if i’m lucky, northwestern. Am i a bad person for choosing a university thats in my best interest instead of going with friends? My friends are calling me selfish for even considering not going with them.
Don’t worry about where your friends are going. Do what’s best for you. Apply to a few that they are applying to but don’t limit yourself to those.
Please talk to your parents and make sure you can afford the schools on your list. Some parents (and students) are shocked at the price of college these days, especially out of state schools.
@emwindy873 I just wanted to add that my son and his girl friend chose to attend different colleges in different states. They are making it work. If a BF and GF can keep their relationship well at different colleges I should think you and your besties could make it work too. If they are not supportive of you finding the best college for you I’m not sure if they are really good friends and it is they that are being selfish.
“Do what’s best for you.”
Exactly right.
I even broke up my rock band go to college! They got over it. It’s part of growing up. Your friends will get over it too. You’ll still be friends if you want to be.
If you are not rich, beware of out of state public universities that don’t give good aid to nonresidents. You can’t be in-state for tuition at both Illinois and Washington. NYU is private, but also notorious for poor aid packages. Make sure you work with your parents to understand your budget and run the net price calculators.
Apply to one or two near where they are applying, but also some that are just for you. There are selective schools in Pennsylvania - look at Swarthmore, Bryn Mawr (for females), and Haverford consortium for example. Make your final decisions in the spring.
Also, if you’re all in the same geographic area around a major city, there’s often transportation to the various schools. Philly, Boston, NYC, DC all have great public transportation. You’ll be able to see each other fairly easily even if you’re at different schools in that general area. NYC transportation goes into New Jersey (using ferries and trains), Upstate NY as far as Poughkeepsie (using trains), and up the Connecticut coastline as far as New Haven (using trains). Philly has train and bus service to outer burbs as well. Boston has superb commuter lines throughout its region.
Apply where it’s best for you but run the NPC first (UIUC and UWash will be extremely expensive OOS, so make sure your parents can afford 240k out of pocket, from income and savings - very very fee parents can and want to.)
Get a Princeton Review’s best colleges and start looking at universities in Pennsylvania, too - there are lots of them and if you’re at Lafayette’s, Dickinson, Muhlenberg, or Lehigh, you’re really close to Temple or Drexel anyway. 
But so nor limit your applications now - apply everywhere the NPC indicates it’s within budget.
This is a good example of why it’s not always good to discuss your plans with everyone. Apply to schools you think are right for you. If you like them, apply to some that your friends are also (but only if would any way - applying can get expensive). Then tell them about the ones you have in common and just don’t say much about the others. You don’t have to make decision until you get accepted and know you can afford it.
Or, as a parent, I would say put the blame on your parents - roll your eyes and say something along lines of “Yea my parents want me to apply to a bunch of different schools.”
If this is all out in open, just tell them you’re not going to discuss it any more - that until decisions come out y’all should just enjoy senior year and worry about exactly where you’re going when all the options are available. After all, they might not get in where they expect.
- but do not limit... (last line, post7).
In your other thread you admitted that you and your friends cheated on the SAT and your scores were delayed. How did that work out for you?
If your friends turn you in for cheating, the choice about where to attend might be made for you. Do you have any safeties on your list?
Unfortunately, it apparently worked out fine for them, since they’ve all received their SAT scores.
What were you all thinking?
I looked at your other thread where you admitted that you and your friends cheated on the SAT. Wow.
Wow is right.
Maybe time to say good-bye to this group of friends – and those bad habits.
Wow, just wow.
Yeah - finding a more ethical group of friends in college would be a good thing.
And the fact that you openly admitted cheating here on CC shows that you have no remorse. And in case you don’t realize it (you didn’t use the word cheating) copying answers from others is cheating.