Why your 'fallback college' may be better than you think


Many students have a particular college, or maybe a couple, that they really want to get into. These colleges are often some of the best in the country and have quite low acceptance rates due to their challenging entry criteria. Sometimes things don’t work out for some high school students, and they don’t get into their college of choice, meaning they have to fall back on their other choices that they knew they would be able to get into. While it might initially be disappointing to miss out on your number one college, there are some reasons why your fallback college can be just as good, if not better.

The college isn’t everything

Alright, so you wanted to go to Yale, but the admissions board didn’t think you’d be a good fit for the college. Unfortunately, that’s just the way things go sometimes and you’ll learn a valuable life lesson earlier than expected; not everything is going to go your way in life. Just getting into an Ivy League school doesn’t guarantee you’re going to finish college with a great degree, or a successful career afterward.

Why your ‘fallback college’ may be better than you think

It doesn’t matter where you go to college, the important thing is to apply yourself and learn as much as you can, both academically and in life to prepare you for the outside world. It is important to find a college that fits your needs better than one that you think will impress future employers, at the end of the day, you’re the one doing the degree, so you have to enjoy it, including the campus experience. Sometimes a smaller school is a better environment for you to do your degree in and many students often thrive in those circumstances.

It’s better than not going!

Your fallback college might actually be one that is closer to home than your dream college, but colleges closer to home are often more likely to be ones you’re going to go to. They will allow you the opportunity to have a college experience and still finish the four years with a degree that will open plenty of doors for you as you try to find employment when you get out of college. Just because it’s a fallback college doesn’t mean it has to be one that you’d never want to go to. You can still find really good schools out there with high acceptance rates, you just need to do some research to ensure you find the perfect safety school to fall back on if you don’t get into your dream one.

Smaller fees

College is expensive, there’s no real getting away from that. Recently the student debt has increased to over $1 trillion and doesn’t show any signs of getting smaller. Most of the dream colleges people apply to are also some of the most expensive in the country, ensuring you’ll leave with a mammoth amount of debt. By ending up at your safety school you might find that you’ll come out of college with less debt, giving yourself more financial freedom in the future

Why your ‘fallback college’ may be better than you think

Going to your fallback school really isn’t the end of the world. You aren’t getting to go to your dream school, but guess what? Like 90% of applicants to those schools didn’t get in either, so you’re in good company. It is important to make sure you don’t get disheartened because there are still some incredible college experiences waiting for you at your safety school.

Recommended For You