A recent New York Times article interviewed 11 high school seniors about their journey through the college application process this past year.

Some of the commentaries is perhaps obvious on the surface— no, attending a higher-ranked college will not lead to a happier life. But, if you stop and seriously think— do I really know that to be true in my full self? There might still be a tiny part of you that questions if there might not be some truth to it. And that’s okay!

As a culture, we are obsessed with rankings, including college rankings, so how can that not influence you even a little bit? Where we can get stuck is in the part of our thinking minds that knows— I don’t cognitively believe a particular outcome will make me happier, but in my heart, I want to be happy, so if there’s something that might make me happier, then I want that! Even if it’s not related to rankings, it can be really helpful to reflect honestly about what are my unconscious expectations or hopes about this application process or about my time in school?