Don’t worry about the “name.” The question to ask yourself is which school will give him the best experience. Of course, it’s impossible to really know, but that’s still the question. My daughter is debating between a “prestigious” school and a “rather unheard of” school. For most of the process, she’s been leaning toward the “unheard of,” which has been hard to explain to nosy relatives (particularly older ones, who I think are more hung up on the “name” issue). But in the last few days, she’s starting to actually critically examine whether the “prestigious” school might actually be the better choice for her because of the additional resources and unique experiences that the more “prestigious” school can offer. It’s not a criticism of the “unheard of” school at all, and we love a lot of things about that school. But sometimes larger endowments, larger student bodies, larger networks of parents/alumni can make a difference in the experience itself – for her, in terms of more travel and innovative curriculum opportunities.
So in other words, if you do go with the “prestigious” school, do it because it offers him something of substantive value that he can’t get otherwise, not because of the “name” and what other people think. But don’t hesitate to pick the “unheard of” school if you think that he’ll be better served there.