<p>Dunnin, I'ld also like to know why 17/18 yo thinks he/she wont be happy. If the person is afraid of a larger school, then he/she may not be ready.</p>
<p>belevitt -- there is the concept of "deferred gratification". Everyone approaches life differently. Some want to "feel good" now, always, and without exception, and do whatever feels good at a given moment. Others have goals beyond the instant day, and are willing to take the tradeoff of temporary discomfort in exchange for longer term happiness.</p>
<p>Noone can make this choice for another, but it is naive to recommend instant feeling good over an alternative that might yield better long term life satisfaction. What if the higher rated school positioned OP for greater long term happiness? Should OP then take the deferred happiness of the higher rated but less liked school, or the immediate gratification from the school OP likes better now?</p>
<p>How prestigious is the Oregon Honors College?</p>
<p>Clark is probably the most underrated honors college in the country.</p>
<p>I think it makes sense to split up the concept of "liking" a school more into multiple categories.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Genuine "fit" issues. If the reasons why you "like" a school more are reasons why you're more likely to succeed there, this argues in favor of going there even if it has a lower ranking. Also, if you're more likely to experience personal growth at a given school, it may make sense to go there even if it has a lower ranking.</p></li>
<li><p>Basic needs. If someone's basic needs aren't met, they're likely not to perform as well academically. This defeats the point of going to a better school. One is arguably better off with a good GPA at a lower ranked school than with a mediocre GPA at a higher ranked school.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Basic needs include a reasonable degree of social acceptance. If the social scene at a given university is such that a student is likely not to make many friends there, it's reasonable to avoid that university. Basic needs also include being reasonably comfortable in one's environment. For example, if a university is in a major city and a student isn't comfortable in major cities, it's reasonable to avoid that university.</p>
<ol>
<li> Lifestyle choices. Some factors may make it more fun to attend a given university while not increasing one's chances of succeeding there. For example, a given school may have better parties. It might have more attractive members of whichever gender one prefers. It might have better weather.</li>
</ol>
<p>In regards to these types of factors, I have nothing to add to what DunninLA said.</p>
<p>Also, it makes a great deal of sense to choose a university which lets you grow in different directions and try new identities. You may decide you want to be someone you had no idea you were at the time you were applying to universities. If the university you're at is one-sided, this may be difficult or impossible.</p>
<p>Finally, when you go to a significantly less prestigious university than you could have otherwise, you really are limiting your future options to some degree. Even if you had financial or other valid reasons for doing so, people may still assume you went to the best university you got into. Are you getting enough benefits from going to the less prestigious university to cost-justify having fewer options after graduation? If you're choosing, say, a third-tier school over a first-tier school, you might want to think long and hard about whether the answer to this question is Yes.</p>
<p>If you're happy at a school, you'll be more likely to be social and get involved, too (extracurriculars, leadership, community service, etc), which will look better late on when applying for a job/grad school.
Overall, go where you'd be happiest :)</p>