{"id":3930,"date":"2015-04-07t09:00:18","date_gmt":"2015-04-07t16:00:18","guid":{"rendered":"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/sat\/?p=3468"},"modified":"2021-01-06t13:47:19","modified_gmt":"2021-01-06t21:47:19","slug":"the-obsession-with-dream-schools","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/college-admissions\/the-obsession-with-dream-schools\/","title":{"rendered":"the obsession with dream schools"},"content":{"rendered":"

when it comes to our college lists<\/a>, many of us have one school we love far more than the rest. and sometimes, we feel like the world will crumble around us if we don\u2019t get in. but it\u2019s time for a reality check. we need to stop the obsession with dream schools<\/a>!
\n <\/p>\n

stop romanticizing<\/h2>\n

we usually believe that our dream schools are perfect and that our lives will be perfect if we go there. but that\u2019s not the case. there are pros and cons to every college. (realize that before you start school and your expectations won\u2019t be too high.) <\/p>\n

this realization will make you feel a lot better in case you don\u2019t get into your dream school. you won\u2019t feel like the world is crumbling around you because you\u2019ll have realized that one school isn\u2019t your whole world. <\/p>\n

yeah, maybe that dream school would have been fun. but it wouldn\u2019t have solved all your problems and made your life amazing. stop pretending that it will.
\n <\/p>\n

stop worrying about other people<\/h2>\n

the attraction with dream schools comes partly from the prestige. we envision how proud and impressed everyone will be when we get in. after all, you\u2019ve probably told at least a few people about your top choice. so it would be sort of embarrassing if you ended up getting rejected<\/a>. <\/p>\n

but as soon as you get to college, other people\u2019s opinions won\u2019t matter at all. it will just be you and your new classmates. <\/p>\n

if your dream school is your dream because of how others will view it, then you should change your dream. base your top choice on your own happiness.
\n <\/p>\n

be flexible and realistic<\/h2>\n

don\u2019t limit your options by putting all of your eggs in one basket. when you become obsessed with just one reach school, you close yourself off to more realistic possibilities. it\u2019s as if you\u2019re a horse with blinders. you\u2019re so focused on one potential outcome, that you don\u2019t ever stop to consider others.<\/p>\n

consider applying early to a target school that you love. that way, you\u2019ll almost guarantee your spot. if you apply early to your dream reach school, you might not get accepted regular decision at that great target. sure, there\u2019s a 5% chance that you\u2019ll get accepted at your reach school and you want to increase that chance as much as possible by applying early. but sometimes that\u2019s not the best strategic decision.
\n <\/p>\n

you have so many options!<\/h2>\n

there are so many great schools out there. a school you\u2019ve never heard of before may be a better fit for you than that dream school.
\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

when it comes to our college lists, many of us have one school we love far more than the rest. and sometimes, we feel like the world will crumble around us if we don\u2019t get in. but it\u2019s time for a reality check. we need to stop the obsession with dream schools!   stop romanticizing […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":81,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[],"ppma_author":[24903],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nthe obsession with dream schools - magoosh blog | high school<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/college-admissions\/the-obsession-with-dream-schools\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_us\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"the obsession with dream schools\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"when it comes to our college lists, many of us have one school we love far more than the rest. and sometimes, we feel like the world will crumble around us if we don\u2019t get in. but it\u2019s time for a reality check. we need to stop the obsession with dream schools!   stop romanticizing […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/college-admissions\/the-obsession-with-dream-schools\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"magoosh blog | high school\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/magooshsat\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2015-04-07t16:00:18+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-01-06t21:47:19+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"nadira berman\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@magooshsat_act\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@magooshsat_act\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"nadira berman\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"article\",\"@id\":\"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/college-admissions\/the-obsession-with-dream-schools\/#article\",\"ispartof\":{\"@id\":\"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/college-admissions\/the-obsession-with-dream-schools\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"nadira berman\",\"@id\":\"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/#\/schema\/person\/cd91c33a9b415932280e4bc631efaacf\"},\"headline\":\"the obsession with dream schools\",\"datepublished\":\"2015-04-07t16:00:18+00:00\",\"datemodified\":\"2021-01-06t21:47:19+00:00\",\"mainentityofpage\":{\"@id\":\"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/college-admissions\/the-obsession-with-dream-schools\/\"},\"wordcount\":464,\"commentcount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/#organization\"},\"articlesection\":[\"college admissions\"],\"inlanguage\":\"en-us\",\"potentialaction\":[{\"@type\":\"commentaction\",\"name\":\"comment\",\"target\":[\"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/college-admissions\/the-obsession-with-dream-schools\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"webpage\",\"@id\":\"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/college-admissions\/the-obsession-with-dream-schools\/\",\"url\":\"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/college-admissions\/the-obsession-with-dream-schools\/\",\"name\":\"the obsession with dream schools - 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