<p>How did you all pick your dream school? </p>
<p>I don't mean silly ambitions like getting into harvard because it's harvard. I mean truly finding a school that you love. Not just the highest ranked school that you could possibly get into. </p>
<p>After looking into schools, I can't find a "perfect" school. All of them have pros and cons... I have no idea what I should apply ED to, if I do ED at all.</p>
<p>Go with programs or academic departments? If you know what field you want to go into, you can narrow it down to schools with good departments in that area and go from there…</p>
<p>Also, you can look into what is unique about each school on your list and see whether one of these is something that is particularly attractive to you.</p>
<p>You shouldn’t. A “dream school” is a fundamentally broken idea that will cause you nothing but trouble. Everything in life has pros and cons - failure to see that is called denial.</p>
<p>There’s nothing wrong with emotional attachment, but you might want to save it for actual human beings.</p>
<p>I didn’t have any dream schools until halfway through the admissions process. If you don’t know what your dream schools are now, don’t worry - you’ll find plenty of time to discover them later.</p>
<p>FWIW, mine was University of Chicago. Princeton was actually my favorite in the tenth grade, but UChi was just so much friggin’ cooler!</p>
<p>After researching into a school; student life, the atmosphere etc. you know you want to be there.
I’ve changed my dream school a few times, first it was Princeton because I was into the whole old school prestige thing and the focus it has on undergrads, and the fact that one of my favorite authors F Scott Fitzgerald was a graduate.
Then I slightly lost interest as I got to like other schools better, but I still intend on applying to Princeton (although I doubt I will get accepted).</p>
<p>^I didn’t actually know how hard it was to get into Princeton way back when. All I knew is that they had the Woodrow Wilson program and that I would give an arm and a leg to be in it. :)</p>
<p>Oh, childish ignorance!</p>
<p>Like xrCalico23 said, look into their programs; the school may have something amazing that just resonates with you.</p>
<p>^ Well when I first came across Harvard, I didn’t think it was that competitive to get accepted (frankly, my preschool when I was three was Harvard Preschool). And in This Side of Paradise, it doesn’t mention Amory Blaine doing crazy CCer things to get to Princeton :p</p>
<p>^Heh, CC does change one’s perspective considerably. ;)</p>
<p>But This Side of Paradise is from a time when money + right name = acceptance anywhere, so I dunno about taking that too seriously.</p>
<p>^ True. If only I was born in that time (as a male?) to a wealthy respectable family. Still, the graduates from back then were the people that gave Princeton the big name!</p>
<p>I picked MIT for its mathematics and computer science departments. When I was 8.</p>
<p>^ For real? LOL I was kind of ignorant, I didn’t know MIT until my brother said stuff about it. When I was like, 12.</p>
<p>I decided I wanted to be a lawyer and go to Harvard… when I was 9…</p>
<p>I didn’t realize what my chances of getting in were. But I still want to go to Harvard and be a lawyer. lol.</p>
<p>^Wait, you’re a college student - right?</p>
<p>^no…i’m a rising sophomore…</p>
<p>^^Close enough.</p>
<p>^^Oh, that explains so many things. </p>
<p>I actually confused your location, “Middlesex,” with “Middlebury.” Whoops!</p>
<p>yeah it would be beyond creepy if i was in college and posting on this forum all the time :p</p>
<p>I picked my dream school when I was 7 years old. The moment I saw Harvard’s campus, I knew it was my dream school. As I viewed the Yard and the beautiful brick buildings, I knew the atmosphere was right for me. The energetic and intellectual vibe of the campus was perfect. I then began researching the school and I found out about their recourses, majors, and all of the successful people that went to Harvard. The research and the vibe were enough for me to conclude that Harvard was the perfect school for me.</p>
<p>i don’t get how you did that when you were 7</p>
<p>UCSD is lacking a party scene, which was a huge incentive for me. I also like the 6 college system. The campus is a perfect mix between urban and rural, and it doesn’t hurt that some dorms have an ocean view. Unfortunately, I can’t apply ED (or EA)… :(</p>