Feeling inadequate compared to other applicants

[417WHB]

@SevenDad

“I disagree with people who say ‘top schools’ don’t matter. IRL anyone would prefer Harvard over generic State U.”

The issue is that the BS mentioned with any frequency on this board are generally “Top XX” type schools anyway. But so many people are focused on getting into 2-5 of the most selective and consider any other school not even worth attending. A more fair analogy would be “Harvard or Williams”.

I disagree with this analogy, because unlike with college, with HS you have a free option, and depending on where you live it may be a very solid choice, if not quite as amazing as the BS. So it is perfectly fair to say let’s see if I can get into Andover or Exeter but if not, let’s save the $60K+ a year and go to LPS and spend some of the money on ECs instead. There are certainly plenty of BSs that are not worth the money for most families, unless you have no good public option or money to burn. Of course there are kids that get significant FA and pay very little which changes the equation. But if you are not very wealthy but full paying applicant I think it is perfectly fine to be very picky and have the top BS or bust attitude.