<p>School administrators and other college help booklets typically tell you to choose a school you're comfortable with, i.e. if you'd prefer a small school vs. large school, urban vs. suburban, etc. Of course, everyone wants to attend a good college and receive a decent education.</p>
<p>I've chosen to attend a small school that isn't very well known and it's stats are pretty average. I rank in the top 20% of my class and my grades are very good. I've been accepted to colleges that most students in my school would prefer to attend. But I've chosen this smaller school because I feel that I won't stress as much, considering all the changes that will happen in my household, and because they have a program for pre-optometry. Its a religious school, which I'm not really concerned about, and I'm majoring in biology. They have also given me a scholarship that covers half of their tuition, which is great since I have very low income.</p>
<p>My question(s): Is it better for me to do well in this college, stress free, but receive average education? Or should I continue challenging myself in a more popular, larger, and academically well-known college?
Will attending a seldom known college affect my future? (i.e. well-paying jobs, grad school acceptances, etc.) As in, alumni of well known schools get better jobs..?</p>
<p>I feel like an idiot for turning down better schools for this one. But it's more of a personal matter than an academic one. I don't feel proud like other students do when they exclaim what college they're attending. They usually say, "Where's that at?" rather than "Congrats!" I know its a silly thing to be embarrassed about but sometimes I feel as though I will regret going there. But, again, for me it's mental health vs. mental skills and I'm not sure which I would prefer. </p>
<p>I would greatly appreciate any feedback or advice! :D Thanks.</p>
<p>Since you have hideously expensive optometry school in your future, choosing the college that offers you a good financial deal makes sense. If you are comfortable with that college, and believe that you can thrive there, who cares what your friends think. Are they paying your tuition? Will they be doing your homework?</p>
<p>You like this college. You believe that you will do well there. You can get the pre-optometry courses there, and there is a decent pre-med/dent/vet/pharm/opto advisor who can help you get through the application process four years from now. That is all that matters.</p>
<p>That’s a loaded question to ask on CC, where 90% of the posters see HYP as an educational nirvana.</p>
<p>Speaking as someone who intentionally did not apply to any Ivies, I’d love to say reputation is entirely irrelevant, but that would be hypocritical. The truth is that it does matter a little bit, for a couple reasons. First, some people care a lot about prestige, but they shouldn’t, because it’s nowhere as important as they think it is. Second, there is a reason why some schools are prestigious, and that’s because they’re very good; the problem with this argument is that many other schools, possibly including the one you will be attending, offer an excellent education despite lacking the name-brand quality of a Harvard or Princeton.</p>
<p>The most important consideration you should make about where you will attend is how happy you will be there. If there really is a significant drop in quality between two of your choices and you prefer the lower, you should take that into consideration. However, if the only difference is in name recognition, then you should pick the one where you’ll be happier. Remember, while there is a correlation between prestige and quality, by no means does that mean lesser-known schools are inferior.</p>
<p>If you don’t mind, what are the names of the schools you’re considering? If you tell us, we can better judge the differences.</p>