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<p>You are correct. Surely you have better things to think about. :)</p>
<p>Besides location or finances, a lot of top students pick ‘less prestigious’ schools because they don’t mind being a bigger fish in a smaller pond. You obviously have to do really well in your classes, but professors are often more accessible and research opportunities abound.</p>
<p>Thousands of kids across the country “settle” in the way you describe. I don’t think it’s either a big mystery or a big problem. There is no rule that you must go to the most prestigious school that will admit you. Many students have a wonderful, enriching, valuable experience doing otherwise.</p>
<p>Just to provide anoter perspective</p>
<p>I chose a less prestigious school over a more prestigious one and I’m not entirely happy. That might change once school starts but still. Prestige is a considerable thing.</p>
<p>The better students at 99.9% of colleges could have gotten into a “better” college than the one they are attending.</p>
<p>Another way of looking at it is: What % of students nationwide attend the “best” college they could have gotten into?</p>
<p>The county I live in is in the top 20 of the country in median household income and the part I live in is considered the most affluent part, yet many really smart kids turned down more prestigious schools also, mostly for financial reasons as well. A few turned down schools like UChicago/Northwestern for my state’s university for financial reasons. The guy who is probably the smartest decided to go out of state to UT-Austin over schools like Duke/Rice. There are only about 4 kids going to big name schools.</p>
<p>Really though saving a lot of money during undergrad years for grad school actually makes a lot of sense. There is nothing wrong with less prestigious schools either. Many have honors programs and decent faculty.</p>
<p>There are many reasons a person may choose NOT to go to what some consider the “prestigious” schools. Just because you can get into one of those schools doesn’t mean it’s the right school for you.</p>
<p>As skateboarder says, prestige is a considerable thing. I wanted to study English at college; it was suggested to me that if I chose to do history, I had a chance of getting in to Oxford. I have a bad memory, and was crazy about poetry, so I said no. In the end, I got in to Oxford to study English, and I am still passionately engaged with poetry and fiction. That bit would have happened anywhere - I got interested in T.S. Eliot in suburban Manchester. </p>
<p>Anyway, it’s what happens after that that is interesting. Going to a place like Oxford stretches you; you meet people intellectually beyond you; you try to understand what at first seems impossible to grasp, and eventually, you get a little further. In the process, you gain confidence. The confidence, the knowledge at your back that you went somewhere like that, tried your best at a place as stimulating as that, stays with you your life long. </p>
<p>Other people might accord you more respect because you go to Harvard, Yale, Oxford, whatnot. They often do, and it is nice. But that’s not what I am talking about. It gives you something far beyond that.</p>
<p>I agree with the above poster. Putting finances aside, would you rather go to UT Austin or Stanford? It’s not even a comparison. You’re selling yourself short by going to a “lesser” school and not fulfilling your academic potential.</p>
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According to UCLA’s CIRP survey, last year 17.1% of students accepted to their first choice college turned it down for a lower-ranked school. </p>
<p>77.8% of students were admitted to their first choice, and 60.1% chose to attend.</p>
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I can almost guarantee that it will. It’s common to feel twinges of regret as a senior, but I highly doubt you’ll spare a thought for your other choice after you’ve been at Tufts for a while.</p>
<p>You’ll find that prestige isn’t what makes a college kid happy. :rolleyes:</p>
<p>Affording one of the prestigious schools can mean a bill of nearly $6,000 each month (approx $50,000-54,000 annually with books, etc.)…many families do not have this type of money for four years of college. Even if they have the $50,000 ++ per year, or are willing to take out student loans, equity loans, dip into retirement accounts, etc. it does not necessarily equate to a better or more valuable education. AND it leaves students and parents with the burden of debt, which in itself can be a detriment to success.</p>
<p>Fit, motivation, affordability, internships, alumni connections and simply what you do with your college experience and the degree you receive are the most important considerations of a college degree. Many renowned doctors, lawyers, professors and other successful and admirable people went to state universities, smaller, less known colleges (some did not go to college at all)!!! and have placed an indelible mark on our world. </p>
<p>Know yourself, students…know where you will be comfortable in your own skin, and parents, know and love the kid on the couch, not the one you want or have conjured them up to be…</p>
<p><<would you=“” rather=“” go=“” to=“” ut=“” austin=“” or=“” stanford=“”>></would></p>
<p>I actually know someone who faced with this choice a few years ago. She was all psyched about going to Stanford - until she visited. Something about the place didn’t sit well with her, so she chose UT and couldn’t be happier.</p>
<p>There is a lot more to the college experience than just “fulfilling your academic potential.”</p>
<p>Springisintheair: That’s all true - I was studying in (fairly) socialist England, so because I got in it was free. That’s all changed here too. </p>
<p>I am merely saying that if money isn’t a factor in a choice, go for the place that will stretch you, not the one that will provide a comfort blanket. </p>
<p>And places might not sit well at first; hang in there and you are very likely to find a niche.</p>
<p>It depends on the person- I think its natural for human beings to want to get into “selective” schools- it isn’t wrong or bad at all. I don’t believe in “fulfilling” your potential hogwash, however. You don’t have to go to Harvard to get an amazing education.</p>
<p>IB Class06, just because those students got into their first choice, it doesn’t mean that was the “best” college they could have gotten into. The very topic we’re discussing here is when the best college you could have gotten into is NOT your first choice, and no doubt some students don’t see the logic in applying to schools that are more difficult to get into than their first choice school. For example, if a straight-A, 2300 SAT student in Wisconsin grew up bleeding Badger red, and was dying to go to U of Wisconsin, he probably wouldn’t even bother applying to Northwestern, Wash U., or U of Chicago. That sort of midset is heresy in the Northeast and in California. But what so many people on collegeconfidential can’t grasp is that a huge % of people in the USA DON’T chase prestige thru their choice of college. I recall when somebody from the midwest started a thread saying he/she was having a tough time deciding between Dartmouth and Notre Dame, and many posters were in shock at the mere question.</p>
<p>Heck, I’d guess that at least half of the students in the country west of Pittsburgh and east of California don’t even APPLY to be best colleges they could get into.</p>
<p>ring<em>of</em>fire, Stanford is not a place for everyone, even if it’s considered very prestigious.</p>
<p>The word “prestige” derives from a Latin word meaning delusion or illusion - according to my VERY old dictionary, the secondary meaning is “glamour; influence or reputation derived from previous character, achievements or success”. A lot of people posting on CC seem to think that prestige is illusory; there is contempt evident in many of the posts about applying to prestigious places. But why? The places that have prestige are at great pains to maintain their reputations with excellent teachers and excellent research. The people who go are not necessarily chasing prestige. They might well be chasing academic excellence.</p>
<p>People obsess too much in this country about fit. In this rough economy, you need to go to the best option on the plate. Stanford is a once in a lifetime opportunity and turning it down for a school like UT Austin is wholly irresponsible on part of the individual.</p>
<p>^^^ Wrong, that is YOUR opinion. People should follow their gut feelings more so what other people think.</p>
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<p>Just can’t agree with the absolutism of this. The nation must be filled with “wholly irresponsible” people by this standard, because many, many students make similar choices when it comes to college.</p>