<p>I recently visited Stanford with my dad, and had a lot of time to talk with him. When he was applying to college, he only applied to two places, Stanford and UCLA. He got into UCLA, got rejected from Stanford. He feels he was slighted in the Stanford rejection, because other, weaker but richer candidates from his high school got in over him.</p>
<p>After we had toured the campus and seen all that Stanford has to offer (which is a considerable amount), he was really impressed and excited about the possibilities and programs they have there. Since he came away with such a positive impression, I asked him whether, if he could go back and change the way things happened, he would change his life so that he got in to Stanford and attended it. Now, my dad is hardly rich and successful, so it's not like he's been able to necessarily achieve the kind of economic success he might have been able to at Stanford.</p>
<p>He thought about it for a while. Finally, he spoke out with a firm "No." He feels as though his life has been much happier and better because he went to UCLA rather than Stanford. He made a lot of friends at UCLA, still loves his old university, and recalls his days there in an almost entirely positive light. Although Stanford is a great school, he just doesn't think he would have had as good an experience there.</p>
<p>So, the lesson here is, if you don't get into the super-college that you really, really want, it's not the end of the world. You can have a great experience at a not-as-great college. Just take everything in stride and try to enjoy your life as much as possible. Chances are, things will turn out fine.</p>