What's next?

It's that time of year again, where high school seniors are receiving their acceptance and rejection letters. For me, it does not matter what schools I get into or turned down from. As long as I am continuing my education, that is all it matters. There are some intelligent students out there that go to a certain college because of it's "prestige" name or to brag. I used to be one of those students, except, I wasn't intelligent compared to them. My parents would always tell me, "Why do you care so much for those colleges that are full of prestige? Schools like UCLA, UC Berkeley, or even Stanford have ambitious students surrounding their campus. If you were to get into those schools, are you willing to compete with them? It's not a matter of prestige that you should go to those schools."

I have came to realized that what my parents had said to me is very true to heart. I have a little story to help why I agree with my parents. My cousin graduated out of high school with a 4.32 GPA. When he applied for colleges, he applied to UCLA, UC Berkeley, UCSD, Stanford, Yale, and Harvard. Luckily, he got in to all the schools he applied to. He went to UCLA to continue in his education and of course, because his parents wanted him to. After graduating from UCLA and applying to Medical School, he was not fortunate into getting into Medical Schools because of his GPA. By the time his Junior year came, he took his MCAT (Medical College Administration Test) and scored a 30 (meaning it's the minimum of what is required of students to score). Although his MCAT score was average, his GPA was not. By the time he applied to medical school, he earned a GPA of 3.2. Because of his low GPA, he was not accepted to get into any medical schools he had applied for. For an bright guy going to a very well known school, why did he get such a low GPA? The competition at prestige schools like UCLA is no joke. Due to the competition, he was not able to get into Medical School.

Now that I have applied to colleges, and get accepted into prestige schools like UCLA, I know that I should not go there because of its fame and my abilities to succeed. I will go somewhere I know I can compete with other students and rise above them. A lot of students and parents have different perspectives. Majority of my fellow friends tell me that they will be going to UCLA, but they think they will not pass. I always tell them that indeed, it is a great school, but they should always go somewhere they know they will be able to get ahead and do well.

We should all think through where we fit in, not where our parents will brag about where we go. I mean, we all get the same education if we go to a school like UCR or RCC. Why need to go to a prestige school like Stanford when you know you can succeed when going to UCI?

Prestige gets you nowhere, your actions are what describes you.