<p>or At least I am, and I'm scared I won't get into a top school. I'm not aiming for impacted majors at schools, but I am aiming for reaches. What are you guys doing for back ups, and would you be happy at your back ups? What if you don't get into top schools? I only ask because when you look at some of the top schools in the country, some privates transfer acceptance rates are the equivalent to what it would have been like to get into harvard yale princeton straight out of high school. I definitely wasn't HYP material, but when a school like Vassar has an acceptance rate of around 25percent for freshman and 10percent for transfers its scary!</p>
<p>I feel like I couldn't attend anything sub USC/UCLA, and that's because I live in Los Angeles, and the extra costs to attend a school like LMU/Pepperdine etc wouldn't give me enough of a return on my education, especially when i plan to major in a humanity.</p>
<p>I just feel there's a certain level of comfort knowing that you're attending a really good school, as opposed to being one of the many who attend X school. Not that Top School = Top Jobs.</p>
<p>that is infact a very mature argument. And yes alot of ppl are into that , and so am i infact eventhough i clearly know that in the end its my ability at what I do thats gonna make me successful, a good name school will only make it slightly easier. </p>
<p>Its hard to hide true talent, especially in a country like America.</p>
<p>don't say 'we' please. you won't die if you don't go to a top school, but you might be unhappy if that's all you're after. and of course I understand people wanting a competitive atmosphere and going after those top schools, I do that myself. </p>
<p>but be honest - let's say you got into a really good school but didn't love it - would you go there? probably not, hopefully. I thought about that last yr, when my parents were urging me to apply to Dartmouth, because I have legacy there, but I don't want to go there....in the end, I ended up not applying. Because if I got accepted, even though it was a reach, I might be tempted to go, simply because it's an Ivy, because it has prestige, because my parents would be happy with me, because my dad would be thrilled I chose his alma mater...but I knew I wouldn't be as happy there..in the end, what you want matters more than the name of a school.</p>
<p>The thing that also affects my situation with choices is that not every school that is below Top SCHOOLS can afford to guarantee 100 percent of your need. And I know 100 percent of your need doesn't equal free tuition, but usually the schools with bigger endowments tend to be more generous with financial aid, which usually are the schools that are at the Top.</p>
<p>BTW I'm not aiming for Ivy's. I'm actually looking more at liberal art colleges specifically because of their nature and schools.</p>