Where do I go by Prestige?

Great point above about prestige working against in certain circles. I live in FL and work in financial services. A wholesaler friend of mine works for a high end boutique money mgmt firm based in NY but with offices in several markets. He’s a sharp kid, CPA, CFA (which is rare), MBA. He attended U Florida. The NY firm typically hired from the far more prestigious schools up north. He networked in to an interview and thoroughly explained, in his role - dealing with CPAs and Money Managers as a source for their clients - a UF degree was worth a lot more than Harvard (because most of the business people he deals with either went to UF or think of it as a great school. Got the job!

Many things are regional. Think about where youwant to live and what type of environment you want to be in and then try to go to the best (and affordable) school that checks those boxes.

Please find some preferences within yourself, but personally I would at least consider taking off Duke, WUSTL, JHU, and some of the UC’s.

Wow, Burrito12, you really gamed me for hours of my free help on all your many essays–even the last minute ones on New Year’s Eve, that I worked on when I was tired from the last barrage of student essays.

I thought I was helping a hardworking, disadvantaged foreign student who needed aid. Instead, you’re a calculating prestige-seeker who manipulated my willingness to help.

Had I known prestige (which is but vanity) was your goal, I would not have helped you at all. And I would have helped others more closely.

You make me reconsider working with people who need such time-consuming help with basic English syntax.

Most of all, I should have questioned why you use a Latino online name since you are East Indian.

I guess in retrospect you practice many levels of duplicity.

Dear CC community, I’m really sorry about this thread. My parents really wanted me to post this, as they are only willing to pay for a college that is highly ranked, else they’d like me to pay myself. I am trying to convince them to look at other factors such as fit and everything, but they at least wanted me to get this thread out there. I really do apologize again, and in hindsight, I would have never posted again. Everybody has been so kind and helpful on this site, and I’d never want anybody to feel that I’ve wronged them in any way. Please let me know if there’s any way I can give back. Please forgive me for this mistake.

So you had somebody else on these forums, write your essays for you, that’s how you apologize?
And you lied, you’re an international student?
That’s a really good way to start off your college education by asking strangers for help and then just belittling those people that do help. Yeah both you, and your parents really have a lot of learning to do.

I wrote my own essays completely. IvyGrad09 was very kind, and offered to edit my essays. I’m confused about the international student part; I never made any claims about being or not being an international student.