<p>The college selection process is driving me up the wall. The constant research, re-research, add new colleges, delete old colleges, write an essay, rewrite the essay, replace the essay with a new topic, try to find a scholarship, don't find one so that one's off the list...how do people make it through to college alive?</p>
<p>I was talking to my psychiatrist today (yes, I need one, and this is one reason), and he was trying to convince me that finding and getting into the "perfect" college is a bunch of rot. At this point, I must say I agree. I mean, really, if I don't get into Yale, would Amherst or Colgate really turn out a different person? Maybe the resources aren't as stellar, but the basic material is similar, the professors are knowledgable, and the students are hard-working and moral.</p>
<p>Are there people here who always thought they'd go to a "big" school, an Ivy or major research institute, but ended up choosing a lesser-known institution? I'd be glad for some validation.</p>
<p>you're right. obsessing over a school when there are many other schools that are just as good is absurd. i mean, i don't blame kids for getting upset when they have the goods for harvard and get rejected. who wouldn't? but it's not the end of the world.</p>
<p>I'm starting to get that way, where my dream college is a college I begin to feel I can't get into. And for some reason I develop anger towards that school about there admissions even before I apply. And thus I start to lean to a different school.</p>
<p>This prestige stuff is so overrated. It's not like a future employer is going to say, "omg, this kid didn't get into harvard, he only got into cornell, he must suck at life so i won't hire him." A college degree will help you get your first job. From there, you're pretty much on your own. Going to a prestigious school like Amherst instead of Yale won't exactly kill your future, lol. ;)</p>
<p>Relax a bit, tkm256 - studies show that once you control for the quality of the incoming student, long-term earnings differences between schools aren't very big. (Naturally, earnings are a narrow way to look at things, but usually a lot of the pressure to get into a specific college comes from the belief that career prospects are far better for an elite grad.)</p>
<p>Focus on a school with an atmosphere you like, interesting fellow students, and solid programs in your areas of interest. There are lots of schools that can give you a great undergrad experience without the insanity of single-digit acceptance percentages.</p>
<p>Lmao I'm with you on the adding and deleting schools on list. Part of the problem is that I don't know what I want so obviously I can't go looking for something when I don't know what I'm looking for...okay maybe I need to borrow your psychologist! Eh it'll be alright, college will be better than HS no matter where you go!</p>
<p>Hey......you will know what you are looking for when you see it! Keep looking and when you are struck with that "feeling" you will have no problem recognizing what that feeling is all about.</p>
<p>There was a study mentioned somewhere that future earnings correlate much more with major than school (duh), and more by SAT score within that major than by school (sort of duh).</p>
<p>I'm wondering if anyone else has encountered that or heard about it?</p>
<p>tkm, really, don't stress out, it'll only make the process the more difficult. I thought i wanted to go to Yale and wouldn't hear of anything else but i discovered Swarthmore (the which many people around me had never heard of) and i absolutely fell in love with it. I couldn't have been more happier with my choice.</p>
<p>Really, brwnidgrl? I was looking at Swarthmore the other day, but I wasn't sure because I've never been to Pennsylvania. I've heard it's great for Biology...should I consider it?</p>
<p>oh, i wasn't trying to push swat on you or anything but, yeah, i really like it. See, i'm from NYC and i felt like lACs would be too small for me, and although it can still feel this way sometimes, I really appreciate the small class sizes and the tight knit community. It's really closed to Philly but at the same time, the college is pretty self-sufficient. I really like the Bio department here; they seem to really care about their students and if you are having trouble, they seem to go out of their way to help you out. Yale is Yale, but Swat (and Amherst and other such schools) might just be worth taking a look at. Good luck and if you have any questions, let me know.</p>
<p>Have a little faith and trust in yourself rather than basing your worth on how the school you pick is ranked. You can't possibly really believe that if you don't go to some particular school it really matters in the end. For everyone that loves a given school there are people who will hate it. The brand names and prestige factor is ultimately just so much bs. </p>
<p>Once you get to a certain level, at least in your own mind (as defining that is again totally subjective) do you think there is more or less value to a Harvard degree vs. a Michigan degree vs. an Amherst degree or Rice or Stanford or Williams or Pomona or U of Virginia etc. etc. </p>
<p>Look at what you want out of a school, its size, majors available, location etc. and figure out what fits YOU. Agonizing yourself over whether Yale or Swarthmore is more impressive, you might as well try to determine what flavor ice cream is the best. There are NO answers to such subjective things.</p>