"Top-tier schools" offer you networking opportunities you simply won't find at most public schools or less well-known schools.
They also can offer you resources far beyond anything you'll find at lesser establishments. Want to study in X country? The best schools can easily set this up for you and finance it too.
The absolute best schools also offer financial aid beyond what's available at lesser schools and publics.
THAT SAID: They are totally overrated as far as the impact they'll have on your future.
If you're not a networker/schmoozer, then all the posters on here are right in saying you should chill out and take the best option you get admitted to. Second tier and near-first tier schools have more than enough resources and great faculty who can give you all the experiences you want to take advantage of academically.
I spent two years meeting with kids who were willing to sell their souls to attend school where I worked and graduated from. The kids that impressed us the most were the kids who clearly didn't need us or who clearly has specific reasons for wanting to study with us. Trophy hunters are pretty easy to sniff out on an application and don't impress anyone.
Also, yeah, if you're graduating in 4 months, you really don't have much a chance to improve your application in any deep way that would bump you into contention for a higher tier school. Realize this. Accept that this is the result of choices you made long ago, and then go to Carnegie and kick ass in all their programs.
I went to an Ivy for college. On the good side I got to rub elbows with famous and brilliant people, befriend future leaders of the free world, and live like a pampered king for 4 years. I also was exposed to all kinds of great ideas and am confident I can talk to anyone about any subject persuasively.
On the bad side, I met a lot of jerks who I will spend the rest of my life watching ascend to power and killing the "are you living up to your peers?" voice in my head is a daily ritual necessary to preserving my sanity.
Skip school for a day. go someplace completely quiet. meditate, pray. do whatever you do. And ask yourself what's important to you. What you want to learn and get out of college. I guarantee you can accomplish it at 80% of the four year schools in this country. It's just a matter of overcoming your pride. I wish someone had said these things to me when I was in high school...
About "top-tier schools"
"Top-tier schools" offer you networking opportunities you simply won't find at most public schools or less well-known schools.
They also can offer you resources far beyond anything you'll find at lesser establishments. Want to study in X country? The best schools can easily set this up for you and finance it too.
The absolute best schools also offer financial aid beyond what's available at lesser schools and publics.
THAT SAID:
They are totally overrated as far as the impact they'll have on your future. If you're not a networker/schmoozer, then all the posters on here are right in saying you should chill out and take the best option you get admitted to. Second tier and near-first tier schools have more than enough resources and great faculty who can give you all the experiences you want to take advantage of academically.
I spent two years meeting with kids who were willing to sell their souls to attend school where I worked and graduated from. The kids that impressed us the most were the kids who clearly didn't need us or who clearly has specific reasons for wanting to study with us. Trophy hunters are pretty easy to sniff out on an application and don't impress anyone.
Also, yeah, if you're graduating in 4 months, you really don't have much a chance to improve your application in any deep way that would bump you into contention for a higher tier school. Realize this. Accept that this is the result of choices you made long ago, and then go to Carnegie and kick ass in all their programs.
I went to an Ivy for college. On the good side I got to rub elbows with famous and brilliant people, befriend future leaders of the free world, and live like a pampered king for 4 years. I also was exposed to all kinds of great ideas and am confident I can talk to anyone about any subject persuasively.
On the bad side, I met a lot of jerks who I will spend the rest of my life watching ascend to power and killing the "are you living up to your peers?" voice in my head is a daily ritual necessary to preserving my sanity.
Skip school for a day. go someplace completely quiet. meditate, pray. do whatever you do. And ask yourself what's important to you. What you want to learn and get out of college.
I guarantee you can accomplish it at 80% of the four year schools in this country. It's just a matter of overcoming your pride. I wish someone had said these things to me when I was in high school...
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About "top-tier schools":
"Top-tier schools" offer you networking opportunities you simply won't find at most public schools or less well-known schools.
They also can offer you resources far beyond anything you'll find at lesser establishments. Want to study in X country? The best schools can easily set this up for you and finance it too.
The absolute best schools also offer financial aid beyond what's available at lesser schools and publics.
THAT SAID: They are totally overrated as far as the impact they'll have on your future.
If you're not a networker/schmoozer, then all the posters on here are right in saying you should chill out and take the best option you get admitted to. Second tier and near-first tier schools have more than enough resources and great faculty who can give you all the experiences you want to take advantage of academically.
I spent two years meeting with kids who were willing to sell their souls to attend school where I worked and graduated from. The kids that impressed us the most were the kids who clearly didn't need us or who clearly has specific reasons for wanting to study with us. Trophy hunters are pretty easy to sniff out on an application and don't impress anyone.
Also, yeah, if you're graduating in 4 months, you really don't have much a chance to improve your application in any deep way that would bump you into contention for a higher tier school. Realize this. Accept that this is the result of choices you made long ago, and then go to Carnegie and kick ass in all their programs.
I went to an Ivy for college. On the good side I got to rub elbows with famous and brilliant people, befriend future leaders of the free world, and live like a pampered king for 4 years. I also was exposed to all kinds of great ideas and am confident I can talk to anyone about any subject persuasively.
On the bad side, I met a lot of jerks who I will spend the rest of my life watching ascend to power and killing the "are you living up to your peers?" voice in my head is a daily ritual necessary to preserving my sanity.
Skip school for a day. go someplace completely quiet. meditate, pray. do whatever you do. And ask yourself what's important to you. What you want to learn and get out of college. I guarantee you can accomplish it at 80% of the four year schools in this country. It's just a matter of overcoming your pride. I wish someone had said these things to me when I was in high school...
About "top-tier schools" "Top-tier schools" offer you networking opportunities you simply won't find at most public schools or less well-known schools. They also can offer you resources far beyond anything you'll find at lesser establishments. Want to study in X country? The best schools can easily set this up for you and finance it too. The absolute best schools also offer financial aid beyond what's available at lesser schools and publics. THAT SAID: They are totally overrated as far as the impact they'll have on your future. If you're not a networker/schmoozer, then all the posters on here are right in saying you should chill out and take the best option you get admitted to. Second tier and near-first tier schools have more than enough resources and great faculty who can give you all the experiences you want to take advantage of academically. I spent two years meeting with kids who were willing to sell their souls to attend school where I worked and graduated from. The kids that impressed us the most were the kids who clearly didn't need us or who clearly has specific reasons for wanting to study with us. Trophy hunters are pretty easy to sniff out on an application and don't impress anyone. Also, yeah, if you're graduating in 4 months, you really don't have much a chance to improve your application in any deep way that would bump you into contention for a higher tier school. Realize this. Accept that this is the result of choices you made long ago, and then go to Carnegie and kick ass in all their programs. I went to an Ivy for college. On the good side I got to rub elbows with famous and brilliant people, befriend future leaders of the free world, and live like a pampered king for 4 years. I also was exposed to all kinds of great ideas and am confident I can talk to anyone about any subject persuasively. On the bad side, I met a lot of jerks who I will spend the rest of my life watching ascend to power and killing the "are you living up to your peers?" voice in my head is a daily ritual necessary to preserving my sanity. Skip school for a day. go someplace completely quiet. meditate, pray. do whatever you do. And ask yourself what's important to you. What you want to learn and get out of college. I guarantee you can accomplish it at 80% of the four year schools in this country. It's just a matter of overcoming your pride. I wish someone had said these things to me when I was in high school...