<p>I've lurked around this site for a while and it seems like almost everyone has a <em>dream school</em> or colleges that they would like/are applying to. Did you just visit all of them, base them on reputation, or something? Answers much appreciated. :)</p>
<p>I actually fell in love with the program I’m in at my “dream school” before the school itself. I found it through my cousin, who is a graduate of my U and happened to be good friends with the dean of my program. I then visited the college and realized I clicked with it :).</p>
<p>I wouldn’t call UChicago my dream school, but rather a school that i really really like. Reason that it’s not my dream school yet is i haven’t visited it yet. I became “attracted” to UChicago through their quirky mails. Then I went on their website, looked at some photos, and became mesmerized with it.</p>
<p>Their fancy gimmick website.</p>
<p>Very carefully</p>
<p>my parents told me what it was when i was five</p>
<p>well
this might sound ridiculously corny (wait, it will)
but it was kind of like <3 @ first sight </p>
<p>i saw sent a glossy with a dazzling photo of the campus in the front- the sunshine
streaming, the students looking happy and important, riding bikes out of the campus
in the brilliant light…</p>
<p>and then, i started reading more about it, the programs, the opportunities…
and from then on, everything about that school was sanctified before my eyes.</p>
<p>yeah, college x offers those opportunities, and college y has those same courses,
but no, my dream school does it better.
yeah, i’m going to apply to about 10 other schools, but i will never, ever be happy unless
im accepted to my dream college.
yeah, the acceptance rate is ridiculously low, but i will somehow get in& spend four glorious years there. </p>
<p>i was in that delusional mode throughout the beginning of my senior year.
then i was rejected early.</p>
<p>i cried for a day, got up, cried a bit more, and plowed through my college apps and in april, was accepted to some great places…and decided on a fantastic place:)
and discovered that how stupid/ delusional/ emotional i had been about my dream college.</p>
<p>about dream schools-
seriously, i hope that all of you guys get into them, but if you don’t, you’ll find that, at least by the end of april, it doesn’t have to be that school, that you are perfectly capable of becoming happy at some other place :)</p>
<p>good luck!</p>
<p>I had a dream school, but then that died once reality hit (I found out about said school via Duke TiP in middle school that I got some kind of national recognition under the program…I then went to visit the campus and * loved * it. Not much as changed since then and I watch Blue Devil basketball with a twinge of regret at not having the credentials to apply).<br>
Now I’m going to a state flagship that I’m content with. At least it’s cheap and I might be able to go to Duke for graduate school.</p>
<p>I found my dream school originally through emails and things in the mail that they sent me. The school was quirky and fun, and appealed to everything I believed in. They didn’t submit to the US World & News, which shows a distaste for authority and being unfairly judged. They have crazy things during finals week, and the campus was beautiful and not in a super remote location. The school pretty much had everything I was looking for, and seemed to be the best place for me to fit in. It kinda felt like falling in love.
Unfortunately, I’m unable to go there since it’s on the opposite side of the US (it’s in Oregon, I’m in FL.) :/</p>
<p>
lol internet.</p>
<p>
by dreaming of course 
God will attend to everything!</p>
<p>I read about it in Popular Science in 7th grade. :)</p>
<p>A kindly phrased letter in the mail.</p>
<p>When I was a freshman, I visited New York City. And I fell in love with the city itself, and for a year and a half, I was convinced that NYU was my dream school.</p>
<p>And then I found out that I could never afford it due to the pathetic financial aid. I was crushed, and figured I’d just go to my state school, University of Washington.</p>
<p>Then, my best friend went to a college fair and the next day he told me all about this school he had fallen in love with. He told me that it seemed like it would be perfect for me, too. He told me to look it up.</p>
<p>I googled “Brown University”. Laughed when I realized it was an ivy-league school (I didn’t know much about college back then, I remember I used to think schools like Vassar, Amherst, Swarthmore, and Wellesley were part of the Ivy League). I told him he was crazy, he’s the smart one, I’m not the type to get into an ivy league school. He pointed out that I have a near perfect GPA in full IB, and had great PLAN and PSAT scores. He convinced me I had a chance. I found out more about it. I fell in love. My confidence grew and I realized that yes, I do have a chance at an amazing school.</p>
<p>I have backups, but I’ll be applying ED to Brown in the fall. Here’s hoping.</p>
<p>Don’t have one, don’t want one (until I’m there).</p>
<p>@Calico
You actually found a school from the thousands of letters sent out? Or was this a likely letter? Or perhaps an acceptance?</p>
<p>The school that is my clear-cut top choice (I refuse to use the term “dream school”) was continually suggested by my mom. I wasn’t opposed to the school, but she kept mentioning it to the point of annoyance. We finally visited a few weeks ago. Everything was perfect. I’ll be applying ED (although there’s a slim chance I actually get in).</p>
<p>^^It was a piece of paper out of all the ones that came in the mail. Of course, much happened after that, but without that letter I probably wouldn’t have looked into the school that much, and therefore wouldn’t have applied.</p>
<p>My “dream” school changes on an almost daily basis.</p>
<p>I should probably find/decide on one soon.</p>
<p>^You can always write the names of all the schools down and draw one out of the box…</p>
<p>Lol, I might end up doing that. I’m just hoping that it doesn’t come down to that.</p>