The implication that a student who likes Dartmouth should not also like Columbia and if he applies to both then he’s prestige hound, is stupid and tiresome. Why is it impossible to believe that a kid could like both the big city and the verdant countryside? My S grew up in the suburbs, so both NYC and rural NH offered him a different and appealing experience. Besides, physical setting is not of great importance to everyone in the college search. There were qualities he liked and disliked about D and C, but overall he appreciated both of them equally though for different reasons.