<p>I think another reason for more than one school in a “tier” is that it really is impossible to assess everything about a school well enough for some students early in the game.</p>
<p>My son is looking at quite a few schools in his mix where he is definitely in the top 25% of the testing/ grade spread… and where his chances of getting in are excellent. He chose them based on academics, general atmosphere, availability of good learning supports, and he visited almost all.</p>
<p>But once he is in, there are many other evaluations to make. He has some specific personal issues and will be entitled to some residential accommodations, and we want to see which schools not only have/make the accommodations, but are gracious and pleasant. He will need academic accommodations, so likewise. He has taken calculus and linear algebra, and is (or will be) more than competent at both, and his school does not do AP, so he wants to find out if he can test out of them… (not get credit, just not retake if he can demonstrate competency at the school’s required level.)</p>
<p>So, it really does come down to the individual student. Everything else is a rule of thumb… a starting point.</p>