When I was younger, about elementary school age, my parents engraved in me a passion for a certain university—which I will not name. We would often visit campus for football games and, as Christmas and birthday gifts, I would receive spirit wear from this school. It never occurred to me that my becoming a big fan of this school would be a direct result of my parents’ obsession, not my own.

This unnamed university is highly selective and very competitive. Only about 19% of applicants are accepted into the school each year. As a high school freshman, I had it engrained in me that I would work hard enough to get into this school, to be able to say proudly that I was accepted, and that I attended this school. But now, as a senior, looking back at my previous dreams, I realize that this was for me to make my parents proud, to give them bragging rights. My personal career goals do not fit with this unnamed school and the benefits of me going there are small; all that would come out of me going there—assuming  I would be accepted—would  be bragging rights and tons of debt.

Many other students that I have met have experienced similar situations: their parents play-down wanting them to go to a certain university, but their child knows and feels the pressure to fulfill that dream.

There are many other factors important to a student when considering the real college that they want to attend: typically personable staff, fun student life, low tuition, and quality programs. But to many people, both parents and students, the name of the school plays a big role, too. It is like an expensive brand name, like Chanel or Prada; but for schooling, however, there is not much correlation with whether or not this relates to the overall quality of the school. So, the big question you could ask is: Does your dream college truly have what you want or are you trying to fulfill someone else’s dream?