• Hemingway wrote War and Peace.
• Peeing on a jellyfish sting will alleviate the pain.
• Your hair and nails continue to grow after you die.
• Handling a baby bird will make its mother reject it.
• The Earth revolves around the Sun.
• Baby giraffes can run a mile immediately after birth.
• You can use baking soda in place of baking powder…just use twice as much.
• Graduating from an Ivy League college is the gateway to personal and professional success, becoming friends with future-famous people, early retirement, beautiful children and eating all the ice cream you want without ever getting fat.

We all know these things to be patently true. Unfortunately, they are all completely false and perpetuated myths. Except for the baking soda. Everyone knows that’s true.

How do such myths become so deeply rooted and accepted in our society? Why do we continue to blindly accept such wisdom as valid even when provided evidence to the contrary? Is it because we are lazy or don’t have time to check for validity? Are we sheep? Honestly, it has to be a bit of each.

Most likely each of these examples makes sense at first, and without investigation or strong and compelling evidence to the contrary, it is easiest just to accept them. It is easier to believe and perpetuate them than to investigate and possibly create waves and push against the accepted consensus. But does it really matter who wrote War and Peace or if a baby giraffe can run a mile at birth? No. Okay, that only matters to Dostoyevsky. But there is a big difference between baking powder hacks and equating life success with Ivy League education. And even among this gathering of urban myths only the college equation has an incredibly deep and life-long impact.

Then why does society blindly equate increased life-successes with attending a prestigious and brand name university? The overwhelming common answer continues to be “Because everyone knows it does.” But if you dig a little deeper you will find that the most comprehensive and long-term research data highlights a very different story – Where You Go Is Not Who You’ll Be.

Can an ultra selective college be the best-fit academic environment for you? Definitely. Is there only one school that can provide you with an outstanding educational opportunity? Very unlikely. And if you are looking for the best return on investment, evidence suggests that an Ivy League school may not be your best choice — Where to go to college if you want the highest salary. – Washington Post, Aug. 27, 2016

Now that you have some foundation to form your own opinion rather than blinding accepting that Ivy League = fame, fortune, genetic improvements and happiness… let’s look at what kind of school choice decisions actually do correlate with long-term life success?

• Academic fit – does the curriculum philosophy match your learning style?
• Academic mission – does the school provide the kind of academic opportunities you seek?
• Environment – If you thrive on personalized and individual attention, don’t go to a big state school.
• Climate – if you hate the cold, you probably won’t be happy at a college in Minnesota. (Although you may learn to love it.)

Placing your entire future on admission to one school is poor planning; there are too many parts of the admissions and evaluation process outside of your control such as: a specific school’s current enrollment demographics, demographics of the applicant pool, funding constraints. However, control those things you can (test scores, GPA, relationships, broad experiences) and apply to the handful of schools that represent the best academic, social and environmental fit for you and your family. And don’t assume you know about a school until you have done due diligence and know the facts; Dostoyevsky will be proud.