Many students have a “dream school.” A dream school might be as renowned as an Ivy League or a little known liberal arts college, but they tend to have something in common. Students work all four years to try to get into their dream school.

If one is accepted to their dream school, there tends to be a lot of excitement and joy before reality sets in: many dream schools tend to come with pricey tuition. The cost of Northwestern University’s tuition and fees comes out to $65,554 per year. Harvard University’s tuition and fees rings up at $58,607.

With the soaring costs of school, tuition is becoming a larger factor in college decisions. According to U.S. News, around 70 percent of 2013 graduates left college with an average of $28,400 in debt.

But does this mean that you should sacrifice your dream school to be less burdened financially?

No, it doesn’t. A student should go to the college that they think will make them the happiest. For some, the school is enough. For others, the prospect of less debt is their happiest route. Students should explore options to make sure they find the best path for them.

Scholarships are incredibly important when it comes to picking any college, especially an expensive one. Finding scholarships can be the key to attending a dream school while incurring less debt. Before committing to a school, students should research scholarship opportunities both inside and outside of their institution of choice. The commonality of awards, both need and merit based, vary from school to school, and for many students, they become a key factor in being able to confidently commit to the school of their dreams.

Although many people entering college have no idea what they are going to be when they grow up, having an idea of the kind of salary one is going to earn can determine how much debt one will be able to deal with. If a student’s plan is to become a programmer in a high demand field, they may be able to handle large tuition debt better than a writer who may struggle to find a job in a competitive market. Feeling more confident about your financial status after college may help you feel better about the school decision you make.

Above all, a person’s happiness is most important when deciding whether or not attending their dream school is worth incurring the debt. If one can’t imagine themselves at any other university, or if they would always wonder, “what would my life had been at XYZ school,” then student’s should follow their heart and be where they feel they belong and take all the challenges that accompany it.