<p>I had a similar situation, I fell in love with the school im going to in the fall, and was told to apply to somewhere “better”. The only better in my eyes is the school you love. People make the mistake of going after prestige instead of actual good. If you love NYU then go for it! I doubt I would be as happy as I am now, if I ended up applying to an Ivy instead of my small liberal arts college. </p>