<p>Update: I originally posted this in the college life section however it hasn't received any replies yet. So I'm hoping fellow highschoolers may have a good perspective on this or share the same problem..let me know!</p>
<p>Hey, I need some advice from people who have made this decision and have experience in this issue...</p>
<p>I'm a junior and I've come across this dilemma ...</p>
<p>I pretty much have my heart set on Pepperdine but I do want to apply to a vast array of colleges just in case I don't get in there ..</p>
<p>Say I apply to Pepperdine and a reach school like Harvard. What if I get into both. Here lies my problem.. Has anyone chosen a school based on its prestige rather than a less prestigious school even if the lesser of the two is where you really wanted to go? I know it seems obvious like if you WANT to go somewhere you do. Yet I don't know if I could pass Harvard up if I got into it. The same goes for vice versa, if someone has chosen a less prestigious school .. </p>
<p>I guess my argument here is I think I would always have some regret if I went to Pepperdine passing up a top school like Harvard. Yet I could also see myself regretting not going to Pepperdine because that is where I really wanted to go.</p>
<p>I don't really want comments on the schools per say, just what your recommendations would be on a dilemma like this ... sorry for my wordiness!</p>
<p>I don't know what you've heard about Pepperdine, but it's not exactly a "slacker" school either. I think you'd probably be very happy at either one. I personally would choose Pepperdine.</p>
<p>go to pepperdine. frame your acceptance letter if need be!</p>
<p>Don't apply if it's not somewhere you want to go. Don't see yourself at Harvard? Save yourself a hefty fee. If you are interested in the Big H, apply and see where you end up. Honestly, I don't know your stats, but it's very unlikely that anyone would have such a decision.</p>
<p>However, if it does come to that, decide where you want to go in life. Investment banking? You should probably try Harvard just for the connections (feel free to disagree). Just want to be an awesome person with an awesome college experience, go for the school you really want to go to. If Harvard really calls your name, there's always grad school!</p>
<p>To really help, I'd imagine myself at each school. Which one leaves you with the biggest empty feeling for not having picked the other? Which one can you make it through four years + at with the least (or at least most pointless) regrets?</p>
<p>To clarify, I most likely wouldn't get into Harvard or ever be in such a predicament. I was just using a prestigious, respected school as an example to compare. Lol </p>
<p>But yeah what you guys are saying makes a lot of sense, and I greatly appreciated your replies.</p>
<p>mm I think I'm too late to comment, but here's some advice for thought.</p>
<p>in our last year's graduating class, we had a student who scored in the top 5% margin of the PSAT takers along with a few other students in our grade, incredibly smart, I'm pretty sure he did a reasonable amount of extracurriculars, and he applied for several colleges. He got accepted into Princeton and University of Chicago. where did he go? chicago.</p>
<p>and I'm pretty sure he'll be equally as successful no matter what he chooses to do. </p>
<p>but the truth is, as much as we strive for those capital-letter schools, there are those little other ones that we completely fall in love with. It might be better to go in the one you love, because honestly, as long as you do great, you'll get somewhere great, and then you'll look back and it'll feel so right that you went to a place you really did want to go.</p>
<p>and it's kind of nice to set top colleges to reality; we're not all begging to go ;)</p>
<p>^ not too late, but thanks for your input. the more I hear it, it makes me feel better about decision making!</p>