<p>Hm, in response to the thread title:</p>
<p>I want an education that is best suited to me, and can best prepare me for my life. There are several schools that I believe can do this. One of them is an Ivy League school, and my correspondence with one of the professors, as well as the reassurances of the financial aid office that continues to contact me since I told them I was low-income, has strengthened this view. I am not entirely certain that this is the best school for me, but I know I would thoroughly enjoy and benefit from it.</p>
<p>If I was to end up in the extremely unlikely position of being accepted to all the schools I apply to, I would have a tough choice, between schools ranging from a few state universities, to good private universities, to a couple schools considered “top tier” on this website. I am not applying to a single school I do not want to attend (none are there for “reach, match, safety” plans, though I could probably lay them out as such if I wanted to). Every school is “Tier 1”, though that phrase is used more restrictively here than in other places. Every school I am applying to has some program or characteristic that I think is the best of its kind, in one way or another. Therefore, I will have a very tough choice, but every single school on my list would be a pleasure to attend. That’s why I’m not so worried about admissions. I want them all, some will want me, others likely will not. I will attend a school that I want and that wants me, and I will be glad for it.</p>
<p>Thus, I do not want an “Ivy League” education, specifically. I want a great education, whether Ivy League, or, most likely, not.</p>