<p>My best friend (since kindergarden) is one of the smartest people I know. She goes to a special magnet high school (with me) and works harder than anyone else in our grade. Since as long as I can remember, the only school she has ever wanted to go to is Harvard. I know she is smart enough to go (and if anyone I know would get in, it would be her) but it is just SOOOOOOO hard to make it in. She hasn't thought about any other colleges and I am worried about if when she applies ishe will get rejected or won't be able to afford it. She is one of those people where if she applied to Harvard, Yale, Stanford, MIT, etc. and made it in to all of them except Harvard, she would be super upset. Does anyone have any advice on how I can get her to think about reality and have her see that there are other amazing schools too and that she should think about some safety schools?</p>
<p>I’m assuming she’s a junior… does she have legitimate reasons for wanting to attend Harvard, or is it simply the reputation/name brand? If she has legitimate reasons, try finding schools that have the things she likes in Harvard. If it’s the whole “Harvard” reputation, has she ever visited Harvard or other colleges? Visiting schools may help her realize that there might be a better fit out there for her.</p>
<p>Just let her know that people turn down Harvard all the time for schools like Princeton, MIT, Yale, Swarthmore, etc. Harvard is not everything in a bag of potato chips.</p>
<p>Thanks for the advice kcmdonahue and Rutgers89. :)</p>