The ivy leagues you get the benefit of amazing connections for the rest of your life.

I went to Michigan State and LOVED it, but soooo freezing cold in that state. Lol.

I recommend a school in a different region of the country from where you live, a large university with many different majors. Live on campus at least the first year, even if you transfer in as a sophomore or junior.

So much is dependent on you, your personality, your likes and dislikes, and your geographical preferences. There are great colleges everywhere in the country.

Some people like huge places like Ohio State (50,000 students). while others like small campuses (Oberlin, Colorado College, just to name a few).

The answer depends on what you like.

I recommend choosing a school that has a superb program in the subject you want to study. There are so many variables to choosing a college. What do you want to study?

I love helping people so I think I want to go into nursing and with the current situations in the world, that should be a good choice. I just hope I’ll be smart enough to make it.

Nursing is a wonderful career. There are many good nursing schools all over the country.

Stanford, because my parents went there, I grew up around it (20 minutes away from my childhood home) and it was my dream to attend. Which I did (though certainly not on a full ride). :D

If I could’ve gone somewhere else, my unrealistic choice would’ve been Oxford or Cambridge, just because of their long storied history and reputation, and that part of me that wants to live in England.

Even if you don’t think you have much chance of getting in to a particular school, if it’s somewhere you’re at all interested in or captivated by, I say go for it and apply there. You never know where you may be admitted.

UC Berkeley or MIT.

Stanford, it has the #1 ranked engineering program. If I’m paying then it’ll be community college.

I agree with @Hawaii_Jake’s advice. Start with an area of study you’re interested in. Then research schools with good programs in that area. Look at reviews, accreditation, graduation rates, internships, employment rates, etc. once you’ve got your list, start looking at the things that would make you happy to be there. Location, climate, size of school, student/teacher ratio, student clubs, etc. Then, or course, there’s cost. How can you afford it?

My daughter got into a competitive nursing school last year. Got a full scholarship (minus housing). They only let in 100 out of the 3000 applicants to the program. First semester, they put them all in this crazy difficult biology class which required a C to pass. Only 60 of the 100 students passed. My daughter got a C- but was told she could retake it in the summer (as she only missed it by a few points). Thing was, the school refused to offer the class this summer and told her to find an equivalent class elsewhere and transfer it in. No guarantees.

She said ‘the heck with that’ and transferred schools and majors (into health management). She didn’t want to be a nurse that badly.

Aptitude doesn’t always equal ability.

So pursue your dreams, but be flexible.

Not sure where I’d go now. For a 4 year degree, I don’t believe that a “name-brand” college is necessary, or even better than a “generic”. A generic is perfectly fine if it doesn’t have a bad reputation. Some of the “best” schools have bad reps due to frats & sororities, crimes, scandals, sports, etc. They also cost much more.

In 1987 I graduated from a university with a student enrollment of over 11,000 (now it’s over 70,000) and I got an excellent education. I think that researching the location, crime stats, unemployment stats and other topics that may interest you, like maybe weather, is more important than the university’s name. Think of a place you’d like to live for 4–5 years, then research what universities are there. Also factor in what you’d like in the way of the size of the school, and what recreational opportunies are available. Good luck! It’s an adventure for sure!

Probably one of the smaller Northeastern liberal arts colleges – maybe Williams or Amherst.

If you’re interested in nursing you can go to school almost anywhere that has a nursing program. The US needs nurses.

I still suggest going to a large-ish university in a different environment than where you live now. It expands your mind to meet people from many different places. Large universities are like cities, you still make your circle of friends.

Look up the ten best nursing schools, or think about where you might want to live. Warm weather, beaches, mountains, the US is huge, it can be an adventure. Not that you have to go to one of the ten best, nursing you can go pretty much anywhere and you will be sought after for your skills.

Maybe think about being a nurse practitioner or physicians assistant if you are willing to do a little more education.

The question is where would we choose to go if all bets were off. I’m not sure that the OP was asking for advice on what she should do. Perhaps she could clarify.

I’d consider where your school is, too (i.e. what it’s like being a student living there, particularly due to the local culture). I found that made a vast difference for me, both in terms of how well I could apply myself to my studies, and in how happy I was.

Okay, to answer the OP more directly…

I have no plans to go back to school. I’m good with my MFA.

When I went to undergrad school, I really wanted to go to RISD (Rhode Island School of Design) but couldn’t afford it. Not sure they would have let me in anyway as they were very selective at the time. I ended up going to MassArt (Massachusetts College of Art & Design). It was still pretty tough to get in to but much cheaper as it is a state school. Extremely similar, Bauhaus-inspired curriculum too.

If I could do it over, and had the resources, I would have tried for RISD. The reputation and resources help get a lot of students far into the field. Much better connections.

@JLeslie You had me at “beaches” lol. Seriously you all have such wonderful answers. Gives me a lot to think about.