Telling a college, “I want to go here because it’s a great school,” is like telling someone, “I want to marry you because you’re beautiful.” They’re both nice sentiments. But name-brand prestige alone isn’t a good basis for a collegiate match any more than physical appearance is for a long-term relationship. Like people, you’ve got to get to know your colleges before you love them.
During the college application process, many schools are going to ask you some version of “Why do you want to attend?” You can’t answer that question effectively by a quick Google search. That’s why the worst way to find your collegiate soul mate is to pick a list of prestigious schools and then work backwards to figure out what they want. The better way is to think about what you want and then do a thoughtful college search to find your matches.
Take the time to get to know them before you fall in love.