College admissions has convinced people that “top 5” vs “top 15” is a real life difference
One thing I’ve noticed after this admissions cycle is how distorted people’s perception becomes once they spend too much time online.
People genuinely talk about schools like Brown, Columbia, Dartmouth, Duke, Penn, Northwestern, LACs, etc. as if they’re somehow disappointing outcomes because another school ranked 3 spots higher exists.
Meanwhile, in the real world, the average person sees all of these schools the exact same way:
“Wow, that’s insanely impressive.”
At a certain level, tiny differences in prestige become almost entirely symbolic.
A lot of admissions culture turns college into a video game leaderboard where everyone is trying to get the highest-ranked logo possible.
But eventually you realize there is no finish line.
The person at X college wants Y.
The X student wants Y job.
The X CEO wants work-life balance like Y.
There will always be another comparison if your mindset is built around external validation.
At some point, you have to stop asking “Which school wins?” and start asking “Where will I actually build the best life for myself?”