And so life changes

It’s amazing how you can be so set on something, and have thought you thought out everything, but have that change in an instant.

University of Texas at Austin: Accept. Turing Scholars: Accept. Dean’s Scholar: Accept.
Carnegie Mellon University: Accept.
Harvard College: Reject.
Brown University: Accept.
Stanford University: Accept.
I was so freaking sure that I would end up at UT, but seeing that, it makes me think.
At UT, I could be in an amazing honors college as one of a group of less than 30 for my class. I’d be able to do undergraduate research through it and still get the full college experience. I could enjoy the size, but also be with many of my friends and get the “small feel” in the honors college. AP scores get me out of just about every stupid class, and I could still graduate early and go to some great graduate school. I’d live with my sister in a (relatively) spacious apartment and be a couple hours for home if something crazy crazy happened. Even so, Austin is apparently different enough from the rest of Texas that I wouldn’t dread staying here. And all, basically, for free.
At Stanford, I could go to the top Computer Science undergraduate program in the country in the heart of Silicon Valley. I’d only have to graduate to have job offers from some of the biggest technology companies. I’d only have to walk over to the next room or turn my head while walking around to see a genius. I could walk down the hallway and greet a fellow undergrad – who happens to be an Olympian. Everything would be insanely difficult (that’s what I want), and there would always be someone better than me to make me want to be that much better. My professors would be world famous as some of the greatest in their fields, and I would literally get to meet and learn from legends. It’s Stanford.
An hour ago, I was sure I was going to go to UT. Would I be a fool to turn down Stanford?

(I was going to have a real blog post, but this came up. I’ll get a real one soon.)