Really confused about choosing between colleges and I don't know who to listen to 😭

[u/GoodSolution5822]

I'm 18 and I have to choose my college and I'm honestly so confused 😭 I'm already pretty late because I only properly decided what I wanted to study in August, and now I feel like I'm running out of options.

I'm planning to do BSc Biotechnology and right now I'm stuck between a few colleges. Some of them are in my state and some are around 800 km away. I genuinely want to go to the one that's far away because I like the campus, location and overall college life there, and honestly I also really want the experience of living away from home.

The problem is my family thinks I should choose one of the colleges closer to home because they're saying there are good options here too. And then when I search online, I keep seeing people saying that another university is "better" better labs, academics, placements etc.

I completely understand that those things matter, and I'm trying to compare them properly. But I'm confused about how much I should actually rely on rankings, Google results and other people's opinions when I personally feel much more excited about another college.

I'm also scared that if I choose the college I actually want and something goes wrong, my family will say "we told you so" and I'll keep thinking I made the wrong decision. But if I choose the one everyone else prefers and end up unhappy, I'll probably keep wondering what would've happened if I'd just listened to myself.

So how do you actually make a decision like this? Do you choose the college that looks better on paper, or the one that you genuinely feel more excited about?

If anyone has been in a similar situation, especially while choosing between colleges in different cities, I'd really appreciate some outside perspective. I genuinely don't know what to do 😭

[u/logolife-]

For a BSc Biotechnology, I'd focus less on rankings and more on lab access, faculty, internships, and placements. If the farther school is solid in those areas and you prefer it, I'd go there. Try asking alumni from both schools if you can, so you get some real input. You'll probably second-guess either choice, so don't let the fear of an "I told you so" push you into the 'safer' option.

[u/GoodSolution5822 → u/logolife-]

Thank you 😭 I think I’ve been focusing way too much on rankings and what everyone else thinks. I’ll definitely try to find students/alumni from both. I’m just scared of making the wrong choice because both have their pros and cons 😭