When I was a senior in high school, I had two options. Go to school in my dream state with my selected major, or attend a University that was in-state (cheaper tuition) and does not offer my selected major. My mom and dad kept pushing me to choose the one that was cheapest and closer to home, so I went.

I went to this school with the attitude that I would hate it. I loathed it. All of my closest friends from high school and church were going to this school - why did I want to surround myself with the same people for another four years? Our stories are slightly different in that mine doesn't have anything to do with religion, but I think the basis is the same.

Which is why I'm going to give you the same advice: your college truly doesn't matter. Since my chosen University didn't have the major that I wanted, they gave me the option to make my own major which meant I came up with the curriculum and sent it to the board of Trustees to approve. You can talk to your adviser to see if this is an option.

College is truly what you make of it. I did not associate as much with my old friends (I did in the beginning and I was glad I knew someone; it helped assimilating into college life a bit easier). My school is large and the classes were interesting.

I know that as a graduating senior in high school, it's so easy to buy into a University's rep and name. But once you get there, you have no way of knowing whether you'll love that school or not.

And let's say you end up going to this university and you truly hate it. You say you're not a rebel, but after a year of college, you're going to change a lot. The way you take care of yourself and the way your family perceives you will slightly change. After one year, you can discuss transferring. And it's alright if your mom doesn't want to pay for your college tuition - lots of students have the same problem - you can always take out student loans.

The bottom line I wanted to make was that don't be so quick to shut down a University based on hearsay. You have never been a student there so you don't know what it's truly like. I was in your position before and I can definitely tell you that ultimately every college experience is left up to the student, not the location or the University reputation.