Ambition is a great thing. When you combine it with focus and a work ethic, you’ve got the traits successful people use to get where they want to go.

But it’s important to ask yourself—what price am I paying to pursue this ambition?

Here’s an example. If you’re relentlessly focused on doing well in school so you can learn and prepare yourself to succeed in college, kudos. The hard work seems like a fair price to pay for ambition (especially given that your odds are roughly 100% that the work will pay off in some way).

But if you’re relentlessly focused on doing well in school so you can get into a prestigious college, your ambition and work ethic are still great. But your odds are not so good. And more troublingly, your ambition may come at a high price.

I’ve met plenty of students who were so focused on getting into a prestigious college that they refused to apply to or even consider schools where their chances of admission were strong. Those students are filled with anxiety throughout the entire process. Many are ultimately left without colleges they were excited to attend. In the worst cases, some are left with no college options at all. Those students have paid a terrible price for their ambition.

I would never tell a student to dream smaller.  But if you aspire to attend a prestigious college and you’re doing the work to get there, please don’t pay too high a price to pursue that ambition. Embrace your ambition, but at the right price. Patrick O’Connor’s newest column shows you how.