<p>My parents have always thought that the prestige of the college you attend = the amount of money you will make = the happyness you will experience in your life.</p>
<p>I, however, think that is wrong. Am I "ruining" my life if I am a smart student, top 1% of my class in a large school, with a GPA of 4.4 out of 5.0, and a SAT score barely over 2000 and decide I want to go to a college that does not have a lot of merit, let's say Baylor.</p>
<p>Or should I shoot as high as I can go, such as Rice or Cornell?</p>
<p>I feel that the college experience is extremely important, not necessarily how smart everyone is at the college.</p>
<p>There have been numerous studies over the past few years that have come to the conclusion that the college attended does not significantly impact future earnings (unless an individual is low-income, in which case there are business connections that are unique to top schools and which an individual could not make through other means). Show your parents those studies.</p>
<p>Still, keep in mind that, as a general rule, higher ranked schools have more resources than lower ranked schools–access to top professors, research opportunities, etc. But this disparity is not significant unless schools are separated by a good amount on the USNWR rankings (say, 15 versus 80). Investment banks also typically only recruit from Ivies and top schools like UChicago, and top undergrad programs have better placement into top grad programs. Things to keep in mind.</p>
<p>You’re from texas right? Well, prestige is one thing, but you’re going to be paying a hefty amount for baylor anyways. Why not try for something even better?</p>
<p>I’m kind of thinking that is your phrasing of what your parents said and not what they actually said.</p>
<p>That said, I think finding a college that is right for you is more important than how prestigious it is. If you can find the right college for you it will bring the best out of you.</p>
<p>The college you attend will not correlate with how much you earn later. That will be up to you and what kind of career you pursue.</p>
<p>The amount of money that you make will definitely not correlate with how happy you are in your life. The old cliche that money doesn’t buy happiness is true, what it buys is possessions.</p>
<p>Will you be happy down the road? That depends, will you appreciate what you have rather than wish for more? Will you be able to carve out a life for yourself that works for you? Will you be spared the kind of unspeakable tragedy that some people have the misfortune of experiencing? None of that depends on how much money you make.</p>
<p>Except for a few selective careers, it doesn’t matter in the long run. Condi Rice graduated from U of Denver, Ken Lewis from Georgia State, D. Scott Davis from Portland State… just to name a few. I used to work at Prudential in the 80’s, and the CEO at the time didn’t even have a high school diploma!</p>
<p>Prestige is perhaps secondary. But you will feel like you are spinning your wheels and wasting your time if you are one of the few smart students at your school. You’ll end up transferring out at best. </p>
<p>Challenge yourself. That’s how you grow and strengthen.</p>
<p>And no, money does not equal happiness, but poverty definitely equals misery.</p>
<p>Thank you everyone! This is definitely giving me some much needed insight.</p>
<p>Marsden- Should I aim to go to the best college for both undergrad and graduate schools? Definitely graduate I know, but what about undergraduate?</p>
<p>PS: I am planning/hoping to major/be an engineer! Preferably a biomedical one, but I know that is SUPER hard.</p>
<p>^IMO, always strive to be the best you can be. don’t try to play the game and go to a lower placed school simply believing that it’ll place you better in grad school.</p>