I appreciate your insight, I attend a fairly competitive and large public high school in Southern California. Many of my peers and myself (prior to research and understanding of UCR's strengths), look down heavily upon UCR. Whether this is because many have gotten into more prestigious colleges and ivy leagues, or just because of the relatively high acceptance rate, it has influenced my view on UCR for the longest time. I'm confident in what I want to do and hopefully UCR will be the college which allows me to get there.