<p>Exactly. If you browse these forums, you'll find hundreds of stories like:
Kid 1 got into Stanford but was rejected from Harvard
Kid 2 got into Harvard but was rejected from Harvard
Kid 3 got into Harvard AND Stanford but was rejected from Cornell</p>
<p>Really? I live really close to Stanford and have visited there quite a few times. I never got the preppy school feel at all.</p>
<p>Since it seems that you really don't care too much about the environment, you should cut any similar schools.</p>
<p>Cut one of each of the following pairs:</p>
<p>Harvard/Duke
Caltech/MIT
Harvey Mudd/Brown
Northwestern/WashU</p>
<p>Leave all of your UCs unless you suddenly decide you don't like one of them.</p>
<p>If you're really passionate about getting a good education from a medical standpoint, give JHU a lot of consideration as it is known for its outstanding med program, and it has a hospital. If you're more for the personal college experience and value self-fulfillment, go for Brown, Harvey Mudd, or Rice.</p>
<p>Thanks for the good advice.</p>