 Hello my people! My name is Meacham. Welcome to the Score Channel. Today I got some advice for you as Decision Day approaches. Decision Day, if you're not familiar, is the day by which all applicants to American universities must make a decision about which university they're going to attend. Decision Day is always May 1st of every year, and since that fall is on a Sunday, you better figure your stuff out before the end of the weekend. For a lot of people, this day can be extremely stressful. You're making a decision that's going to impact the next several years of your life. I do want to say, it's not the most important decision in your life. It might seem like it right now, but trust me, there are far greater decisions that will impact your life much more than the university you decide to go to. How do you know where you should go? If there is one important variable that you should take into consideration when making a decision like this, it is absolutely the cost of studying at university. Even if you are loaded rich and you can pay for the whole thing yourself and not get into any debt, which by the way, good for you. The money you could be putting into university could be money that could go to investments, could go to savings, could help you buy a house or start a business. Don't just throw money away on college. There is no university that's worth 50, 60, $70,000 a year. Now, if you don't have a ton of money and you're debating getting into debt for college, I would strongly encourage you not to do that. The worst thing that you can do, honestly, is burden yourself with a bunch of debt that you're going to carry forward for the rest of your life. In that case, yeah, this might be the most important decision you ever make. Other people have made really, really good videos explaining why college debt is a huge problem, why it negatively affects people. I haven't even gone into the topic that much just because I know it's already been very well covered by other people. You can check out like up in one of these corners here, some of the videos that I've seen that I think are really good on the topic. But again, I stress this. Do not make a decision that will put you tens of thousands of dollars in debt. And you're not just doing this to get a piece of paper with a logo and your name on it. You're doing this to learn things, meet new people, have new experiences. Hopefully, without getting into debt. You're going to do more than just study for four years. If you want to have a good time at university, you also need to find things to do with people that also like doing those things. If there's a particular sport or activity that you really want to partake in, look for a university that has a really strong club around that activity. For example, if you want to do esports, find a university from your list that has an esports program. That could be a deal breaker for you. You're going to remember much more about the activities and the people and the friends you make than you will your classes. I guarantee it. Do not make this decision because you're worried about what other people think. One of the biggest problems that I see is people comparing themselves to other people. Whether it's because they want to make their parents happy, they're worried about what their friends will think, or even just what their teachers might think. People will make these college decisions more because of what other people think than what they actually want. And that is a huge no-no. This is your decision. It's not called everybody else decides for you day. It's called decision day. You need to make a decision for you. Don't let other people influence your decision. While they may genuinely have your best interests at heart, they don't always know what's best for you. Only you can answer that question. When I was 19, I decided to move to Peru even though I didn't know anybody here. I didn't speak the language and honestly, I didn't even have much money or education to my name. Most people told me I was insane. I mean, they told me I was crazy that I would come back crying for the United States within a couple of weeks or a month. Nobody gave me a chance to live and succeed here. Everybody thought it was a terrible decision. If I let myself be influenced by those voices, I wouldn't be where I am today. Instead, I decided to do something for me. I made a decision to go somewhere regardless of what other people thought. And it wasn't a popular decision, but it was a good decision for me. I am extremely happy that I made that decision. And the point I want to make with this is that if you make your own decision and not let other people decide for you, you're going to be happier with that decision. Even if it doesn't go perfectly according to plan, at the end of the day, it's your decision, it's your life, and you can take pride in knowing that you created it. Most people focus on rankings. Most people focus on prestige. They focus on which is the best for this major. And it oversimplifies the discussion down to a simple variable which for the most part is rigged by universities anyway. Don't follow rankings to figure out which is the best university for you. They don't take your personal preferences into consideration. And your personal preferences should matter. I mean, you should be going to a university that's a good fit for you. So to sum it up, don't listen to other people. Focus on your own interests and the experiences you want to have in college when you're making your decision for decision day. Don't get into debt if you can avoid it. And even if you are filthy rich, which again, good for you, use your money intelligently. Don't blow 60 or $70,000 a year on university when you could get a really good education for maybe half that price at another one that gave you some scholarships or even in state tuition. Choose a school that fits you, not one that fits everybody else's preferences and desires. It's your decision day. Make it count. Thanks for watching and I'll see you next week.