I think it is interesting that Bill Gates son choose U of Chicago, for math and comp sci. His sisters chose Harvard.
Interestingly enough, my daughter chose the University of Chicago (she's met Rory Gates, and says he's a nice guy). My son chose Harvard. Both chose their colleges on the basis of fit.
For those who know, the University of Chicago and Harvard are nothing alike, despite both being elite colleges. It is ridiculously easy to graduate from Harvard, whereas the University of Chicago is known for being highly demanding.
My daughter is naturally a bit of a slacker, and works to meet the expectations of her teachers. She also knew that she performed her best when she was pushed. If she attended Harvard, she wouldn't have worked very hard, whereas at Chicago she had to put in a lot of work, and in doing so learned what she was actually capable of. She thrived there to such an extent that we couldn't imagine a better place for her. When applying to colleges her attitude towards Harvard was "I will go there if I absolutely have to."
In contrast, my son has overly high expectations of himself, wanting to be the absolute best at everything. We discouraged him from attending MIT because MIT has a culture of students over-burdening themselves and he thought he would burn out there. At Harvard he could instead take hard classes (like Math 55) and also take classes at MIT when it suits him. But when he starts feeling it is too much, he can choose among the hundreds of easy classes at Harvard. It was a good fit for him.
