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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]

Fit matters more than ever, and quality of the education.[b] If there's one thing I've learned it's that the Peter pressure in this area and the degree to which the branding hype is bought into is deeply unhealthy. [/b]Cast a wide net, and make no assumptions. There's a good school out there for your kid. But it probably won't be the ones you went to, or your peers went to. Your kid isn't all that attractive to them, and they care only about their brand.[/quote]

+100 and it's not just DC but other big, affluent cities. I was just talking with a friend in the Bay Area whose daughter was a mess all weekend about committing to UC Davis vs UC San Diego. Davis is a much better fit for the student and she knows it but couldn't get over turning down the higher-ranked UCSD and what kids at school would say. There is no meaningful quality of education difference between those two schools and only about a 10-slot difference in the rank! But now, because of the toxic pressure around rankings, she's starting off her entrance to Davis (which she thankfully did commit to) feeling like she is somehow less-than. Her parents don't care about rankings and have been pushing all along to not pay so much attention but she gets this crap from classmates.

It does show me one bright side of my DD's really difficult junior year. She's not competitive for those brand-name schools so she can focus on fit and hopefully tune out the nonsense.

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+1000

Rankings really don't mean much and it's sad that our kids (and many parents) are made to feel inferior based on the college they pick. Ultimately how well you do in life has more to do with WHAT you do in college than where you attend college. Both of those schools are huge UC schools, ranked about the same---it's not like one is only 6K students so you are getting the advantages of smaller classes/more contact with profs/etc.  Any real differences likely depend upon the specific major and what those opportunities are
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