Although small colleges and universities provide successful foundations for many of their graduates, many high school seniors think they need to attend prestigious schools with academic clout.

For many, however, it’s never going to be possible to attend such world-famous universities. Students can still achieve great personal success at smaller or lesser known colleges.

“We have a number of graduates who have gone to small schools like San Francisco University and similar schools. Students can be very successful going to small, private schools,” college counselor Randall Fong said.

John Green, author, blogger and 2006 Printz Award winner, attended Kenyon College, a small liberal arts college in Ohio. He is well known for the novel, “The Fault in Our Stars,” which made the New York Times best seller list and has been made into a very successful movie. Green was also on TIME magazine’s list of the 100 most influential people of 2014.

President Barack Obama attended Occidental College, a liberal arts college in Los Angeles, Calif. He went to Harvard Law School, became a civil rights attorney, a U.S. senator from Illinois and then President of the United States . Obama also won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2009.

Giuliana Rancic, broadcast journalist for E! news, attended the University of Maryland at College Park where she received her bachelor’s degree in journalism. Rancic is a published author and has co-hosted many events for E! news.

“To a large degree, your choice of university—at least within a large class of selective four-year institutions—does not matter very much. Not only are most students satisfied with their choice, but in important respects most colleges are pretty much alike,” Andrew Roberts said in his book, “The Thinking Student’s Guide to College.”

“Students shouldn’t be wrapped up in attending a big-name university but instead should focus on qualities of their intended major and how they themselves fit into each school. Sometimes, smaller colleges offer more opportunities for students and are a better fit,” said Fong.