<p>It can be more important to decide your life's direction in deciding what college or university is right for you, rather than basing such an important decision on the popularity or prestige of the institution. While nobody would debate the advantages of an Ivy League degree over a traditional state university, attending a prestigious university for the wrong reasons can result in disastrous consequences, not the least of which is failure to complete the degree. There are many factors that come into play when choosing where to attend college (or whether to attend a traditional college, at all), and many of these factors are highly personal. Do you thrive in crowds, or do you prefer more individual attention? The alienation that even a gifted first-time student can feel at a large research institution might be enough to discourage that student from completing college, while that same student might have thrived at a smaller school that provides more individual acknowledgment. I don't just speak from an uninformed perspective, but from experience, having attended a major research university for my first two years of college. With SAT scores 300+ points above the national average (math in 99th %-tile), I chose to attend the flagship university in my state, which had the most solid reputation of all the state schools. While I expected to thrive in this environment, the truth was that I lacked the emotional maturity and perspective on life to know if this was the right place for me. I was mistaken, it was not. In hindsight, if I could have done it differently, I would have attended a much smaller school with smaller classes and more personal attention. In the end, it all turned out alright, as I eventually transferred to a smaller school, and graduated with a bachelor's degree in economics. After a few years of being in the working world and 'school of hard knocks', I finally realized that I wanted to be an architect, and I am currently in my final year of architecture school. I will graduate with a M.Arch. next May. If anybody out there has had similar experiences, or would like to share your unique story, please feel free to post here.</p>