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<p>Fit is far, far, FAR more important than prestige or anything else. </p>
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<p>I agree with this ... and also don't think fit and prestige are that closely connected. </p>
<p>Alexandre is terrific at providing lists of private Us, public Us, and LACs that fit a student's academic interests and accomplishments. Within any tier there are a ton of schools, all of which can provide a great education for a student. To me the bigger question is to find the fit ... programs, small/large, city/rural, diversity (or not) of students, etc. Among those many schools in a tier a bunch will "fit" the student better. </p>
<p>One case where "fit" and prestige might conflcit is where a student excels when they are the big fish in a small pond (more self confident or whatever) ... then the best "fit" might lead to a lower tier school than a review of the stats might suggest ... but to me this scenario is the exception.</p>
<p>The more common situation is picking among the many-many choices in the appropriate tier ... where "fit" is big player in that choice ... and where prestige among these choices will be roughly similar among grad schools and major employeers.</p>