Rejected by your first (second…third…) college of choice? You're not alone. Competition for spots at the Ivies and other top schools has become ridiculous. Even if you're a valedictorian with a 1,500+ SAT score and loads of extracurricular activities on your resume, you're not a shoo-in for admission.

Shunned by first-tier colleges, more and more students are turning to what formerly were considered "safety" schools. And many are learning, to their surprise, that they're no longer safe. This trickle down effect has reached even lower tiers of private colleges and has certainly made gaining admission to flagship public universities increasingly tough. At some point down the private college prestige scale, a public college begins to look like a better deal.

All that said, don't fret—you can get a good education just about anywhere.

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