| Forgive me MIT people for invading your board, but I just thought I would throw in my $.02 as a transfer. It depends on what schools you are thinking of as being as prestigious as MIT. Transferring to Ivy's is almost impossible as they have hundreds of applications and only a few openings if you are lucky. Transferring to a school like ND isn't as bad because ND is a very transfer-friendly school. It just depends on where you are thinking.
I think the most important thing you should look at is what is the most important part of your college experience, what would really make the difference, and what school matches that best. I would try not to look at prestige much because, at this level, you are going to be coming from a big-name school regardless. Go where you fit best and where they meet your needs the best.
The best advice I can give you, as a senior in college, is before you decide look at your decision and ask yourself why you are making the decision you are making. Then think about if you are going to be happy with that decision when you are in my shoes. For me, I wanted to go to a school that felt like home. I wanted a school where I could grow spiritually and academically and where I could get a top-flight education but not sacrifice having a college experience. Looking back, I picked the perfect school. If I had gone with prestige, or where my girlfriend at the time was, I would be very angry with myself at this point.
I am sure all of the schools you are looking at are solid schools, especially if you got into ND and MIT. Just pick where you fit best. 25 years from now I highly doubt US News rankings will matter much, but the opportunities given to you these 4 years and the education you received will matter. | 
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