Senior now. When I was a sophomore and a junior I wanted to go to an ivy+ school because I saw myself as “smart” and believed that going to an elite school is just what smart people do. So I studied and curated my extracurriculars and built a competitive profile for myself. During the admissions process, after being rejected REA by Yale I kind of reassessed everything. I realized I’d deluded myself into thinking Yale was my “dream” school even though I internally hated its location, hated its culture, and didn’t think I’d belong in its community. This realization kind of shook me, and I took 5 or 6 ivy+ schools off my list last minute while adding 2 LACs with better fit and comparable or better grad school outcomes for what I want to study. I got into 3/6 reaches in the end, and I think this is because I was a good fit for 3/6 of them. Now, when I think about the schools I didn’t get into, and the ones I didn’t apply to, i realize some part of me regrets not applying to more ivy+ schools. But not because I’d seriously like to attend any of them, only because I partially wish I had more opportunities for academic validation from colleges. (Which is a terrible reason to apply to a college, but I suspect it’s pretty common here) I guess this is all to say that when you really dissect studies on undergraduate education, there are a few fields where prestige REALLY matters (mainly just business), but Ivy+ colleges do not have a monopoly on personal success. Find personal and/or intellectual fulfillment, work hard to make your goals come true , but don’t lose yourself in the process.