<p>From a pragmatic point of view, what are the benefits of going to a more difficult school and taking more challenging classes?</p>
<p>I can go to a pretty easy university. It has a program with this grad school so as long as I do well I have a good shot at getting in there (which is my ultimate goal). The classes won’t be terribly stimulating but the subject is biology so it’s not terribly theoretical anyway (as compared to physics or math), but it won’t be too difficult to get good grades and get into the grad school. Plus I’ll have less stress and more free time for other activities including research or volunteering. And I actually like the campus and location a lot.</p>
<p>Or I can go to a harder and more prestigious college. I don’t like the campus or location as much. The work will be more difficult and it’ll be harder to maintain good grades. It will be challenging and maybe very competitive and maybe more stressful. At the end I still want to go to that grad school. Since this university has a better name, that might help but at the same time my GPA will probably be lower, I’ll have less time for extra activities, and the grad school doesn’t have a partnership with this college as it does with the other one.</p>
<p>As far as getting challenged, I did that in high school, took a lot of APs and such. Worked my butt off and got a great GPA. It gave me a sense of accomplishment but at the same time I never had enough time and took it away from things like sleep, social life, and family time. It might be nice to take it easy for a while. Sure I’ll still try my best and take a couple of hard classes maybe, but an easier university might be a nice change of pace.</p>
<p>So which is a better choice?</p>
<p>What do you define as an “easy university?” Just because the college might be more lenient in admissions doesn’t necessarily mean the professors or classes are a breeze. Likewise, the opposite might apply for “hard universities.”</p>
<p>I know. But students I’ve talked to at both say the “easy” one’s classes aren’t very academically challenging while the “hard” one is.
I guess it can be compared to taking an IB/AP class in high school vs. a regular one.</p>
<p>I am going to have to disagree with lorikumar in some respects.</p>
<p>Taking all the hardest classes you can won’t matter for grad schools, your job, or anything else for that matter. The best path is to take the most interesting classes you can find. If those classes happen to be easy, then great you won’t have a hard time. If those classes are hard, you aren’t going to care if you like the material. Taking all the hardest classes, especially if they are outside your major and field of interest. </p>
<p>Why would I take the hardest history classes to fill my history requirements when I don’t even like history? I’m in a technical field, and memorizing a bunch of different dates is totally irrelevant to my goals. It’s a stupid idea.</p>
<p>As for grades, they matter, but they aren’t as important as what you choose to study. That means, don’t be afraid to take classes or major in something that isn’t your best subject. Having poor grades will hold you back in grad school prospects, internships, and your first job out of college.</p>
<p>Deciding on which school to go to is really personal matter. It is pretty hard for us to help you without knowing which schools so that we can judge just how big the step down is. If you are thinking of turning down the ivy league for a 4th tier school then you are insane. If the schools are close, then fit matters significantly more. You’ll be more successuful where you are happy but don’t underestimate the power of a school’s name brand. There are jobs that are reserved for people from top schools that you may be out of the running for if you don’t go. It is always in your best interest, assuming you can afford to go to either, to go the best school possible. </p>
<p>You’re not even at college yet, don’t be naive enough to think your mind won’t change about graduate school prestige. People get into top grad schools from no name undergrads, but it is much harder to do. Many grad schools won’t admit their own undergrads, that is another thing to check into. I’d choose very wisely. You have to make sure you have some very good reasons for turning down the better school.</p>
<p>Personally I would go with the easy school. Here are my reasons: you deserve a change of pace. My high school experience has been the same way. I have a 4.0 and when I’m not doing stuff for school, I’m doing stuff for scholarships. I’ve had cut down personal time too. The only thing I get sneak in for myself weekly is television because it’s right there. For college, I’m going to a school, that’s not necessarily easy but not as rigiourous as another school I could have went to. But also, this less rigourous school gave me so much more money, and I love the location, and campus more. Also I’m in the honors college at this school, so I that definitely will add more rigor. Frankly, I’m in love with this school. </p>
<p>But anyway, I didn’t want to be stressed out in every moment of college. I already do it now and I derserve to enjoy life more. College is the last piece of shelter we have before fully becoming adults and having to go into the working world. We’ll have to take care of ourselves. Let’s enjoy four more years before we have to do that. Not that life is misarable after college, but it’s a lot tougher, especially in today’s economy. Go to place you want to go and have a great experience. If you’re going to go to grad school anyway, that’s when you can worry about prestige. </p>
<p>All I’m saying is that with easy school for you, you can have a life, and a high GPA, and get into the grad school you want. If you want to challenge yourself, research things on your own time. You don’t need a teacher to discover new things, they’re just good people to guide you on the path of learning. But anyone is capable of guiding his or herself. You don’t want to be misarable in college; it’s college, have a little fun for once. 
Whatever choice you make, make the best of it and stay positive.</p>