I considered colleges in the US, UK, and Canada with the dream of attending Oxford. My final college decision surprised even me.

The author (not pictured) considered colleges around the world.

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• I considered colleges in three countries: the US, the UK, and Canada — where I'm from.
• To compare each school, I weighed students' experiences and their return on investments.
• Although I dreamed of Oxford for years, I ultimately decided to attend a small school in Canada.

Growing up in Toronto with dreams of attending Oxford, I never imagined I'd attend a small college...