<p>*Still, there is some value in looking @ that BMW I cannot afford. I value the lonely bells and whistle my clunker has, and even more so, the reality that I can get to work just like I had that Mercedes absent the 2nd mortgage payment required if my dream were reality. *</p>
<p>While there may be some value in looking at the unaffordable, it can really negatively affect your ability to accept what you can afford.</p>
<p>After seeing all the bells and whistles at top schools, a more affordable school that is NICE, but doesn’t have it all will look like “chopped liver”. </p>
<p>When I’m shopping for a home, I may look at homes that are slightly above affordability just to see what might be possible…but I don’t waste time looking at mansions. Those are ok to look at when I’m not shopping for homes…but just wanting to see decorating ideas.</p>
<p>The same problem occurs when kids look at schools that they don’t have the stats have. One of my friends took her D on campus visits when her D was a soph. The schools were all very good schools. However, now that she’s a rising senior, and her test scores are rather low, so none of those schools will work…and the D is very upset because she loved them. The schools that she will get into are going to look “bad” compared to what she’s already seen…even tho those schools are nice schools.</p>