Moving Beyond Rankings: Why Fit Matters More Than Prestige

Moving Beyond Rankings: Why Fit Matters More Than Prestige
Strategic College Admissions Coaching

Every admissions season, I see the same pattern: students (and often their parents) gravitate toward brand-name universities and whatever school happens to be climbing the latest U.S. News list. The draw is understandable—rankings are easy to digest, they feel “official,” and they promise to shortcut the overwhelming task of building a college list. But in over 15 years of guiding students through this process, I can tell you with absolute certainty that rankings are a blunt tool. They tell you almost nothing about how you will learn, live, and grow on a given campus. I’ve sat with countless students at kitchen tables, in coffee shops, and over countless Zoom calls. I’ve celebrated them as acceptance letters rolled in and comforted them when they were waitlisted. I’ve seen students turn down Ivy League offers for schools they’d never heard of at the start of their search—only to thrive in ways they never imagined. I’ve also seen the opposite: bright, ambitious kids who chased prestige, got in, and then realized, too late, that the environment wasn’t right for them. That’s why I tell my students, no matter how high their ambitions, the central question isn’t, Where can I get in? or What will impress other people? It’s Where will I thrive? That’s the question we have to answer if you want not just an acceptance letter, but a transformative college experience.

The Student Who Chose Fit Over Prestige
A few years ago, I worked with a student—let’s call her Maya—whose goal, since elementary school, was to attend an Ivy. She had top grades at a competitive high school, multiple leadership roles both in and out of school, and had won a national-level award in her field—she had what it took to get in. During our research phase, we also discovered a smaller, lesser-known liberal arts college with an unusually strong program in her exact academic niche, plus a cross-registration agreement with a major research university.

Initially, Maya resisted visiting the liberal arts school and focused only on her Ivy League dreams, but during her Ivy visits, while impressed, she felt anonymous. Finally, she visited the smaller school, probably to keep me quiet, but also, she shared after her visit, to confirm what she had initially thought—that all competitive schools would feel the same. To her surprise, at the smaller school, she sat in on a seminar where the professor called every student by name and even invited her, by name, into the conversation. That was one of several experiences that stayed with her. Maya decided to expand her search and ended up applying to several Ivy schools and a handful of carefully curated small liberal arts colleges. She was accepted into every school in which she applied and chose to attend the smaller school with the cross-registration that she first attended. The summer following her first year, she received a grant to collaborate with a professor on her research and by sophomore year was submitting conference proposals and manuscripts to be published. When it came time to explore PhD programs, she found herself drawn back to the very Ivy she had dreamed of attending—this time, however, the decision was based purely on finding the perfect fit for her research and career goals, not on its prestigious name. Her impressive list of publications and work experiences and outstanding, personalized letters of recommendation helped her gain admissions, proving to her that her decision to attend the smaller school was the right one.

What “Fit” Really Means
I know “fit” gets thrown around like a buzzword, but it’s critical—it’s the alignment between who you are and what a college offers in the classroom, on campus, and beyond graduation. Getting it right requires looking deeper than ranking, glossy brochures, and Instagram posts. When I work with a student, we explore layers of fit that go far beyond surface impressions:

That includes:

• Academic Architecture – Does the college’s curriculum align with your learning goals? Are there programs, concentrations, or research opportunities that match your intellectual curiosity—not just now, but as it evolves?

• Faculty Access & Mentorship – Who teaches in your intended field? Are they accessible? Does the department offer real opportunities for mentorship and hands-on projects?
  Professors who will know you, challenge you, and open doors for you.

• Learning Environment – A setting that matches your learning style—whether you thrive in small discussions or big, bustling lectures.

• Community & Culture – Does the social structure of campus life, including diversity, traditions, and how students support one another reflect your values, interests, and identity in meaningful ways?

• Financial Sustainability – Do their aid packages match your need so that you can graduate with a sustainable debt burden?

• Location & Lifestyle – Is the setting—urban, suburban, or rural—going to enrich your college experience? How will climate, distance from home, and surrounding opportunities like internships affect your day-to-day life?

A school may be celebrated for its overall reputation but lacks the program depth, teaching style, or community that will allow you to flourish. On the flip side, a school you’ve barely heard of might have the exact combination of resources, mentorship, and environment that propels you forward.

Prestige Has a Price
One of my most talented art students—let’s call him Daniel—got into a globally recognized arts school. It was everything he dreamed of, but when we read the financial aid package they offered him, he cried. Attending the school would mean six figures of debt. As he and his family struggled to figure out how they could possibly make their finances work, a liberal arts college with an excellent arts program with a state-of-the-art studio offered him a full-tuition plus scholarship. Daniel took the scholarship. He chose a less expensive, yet highly respected school, knowing he'd still get to work with professional artists. The choice also allowed him to dedicate his four years to his studies, accepting internships, taking on passion projects, and building his portfolio instead of working part-time jobs to make ends meet. His decision also gave him the freedom to pursue his artistic career after graduation without the pressure of paying off student loans.

How I Build a College List That Works
I like to ask families if they have any “dream schools” to get a sense of what they are thinking, but they are surprised when I set that information aside and begin the investigative process: personality assessments, conversations about learning style, career goals, and even lifestyle preferences. From there, we identify non-negotiables (e.g., academic priorities, learning environment, social and extracurricular needs, career goals, and financial realities) and nice-to-haves (e.g., nearby skiing, brand new dormitories), and we look for schools that meet those criteria—whether or not they appear in a top-ten list. This step can often be more illuminating than students expect. From there, we move onto conducting layered research. We don’t stop at the admissions homepage—we dig into departmental course offerings, faculty bios, internship pipelines, student organizations, and alumni trajectories. We also talk to current students when possible, because no amount of marketing replaces lived experience. From there, we categorize the schools without settling. We aim for a balanced list, yes—but every school on the list must be one our students would genuinely look forward to attending. That means even “safety” schools are chosen with care, because they meet students’ criteria for fit. We’re then ready to build a list that is calibrated for variety—a well-constructed list includes a diversity of size, location, cost, and selectivity, while staying aligned with students’ core needs. Finally, we use a comparative framework to evaluate schools side-by-side, weighing factors that matter most to you rather than to a generic ranking formula. This tool often reveals surprising front-runners.

Summing it Up
Choosing a college is one of the most personal decisions you will make to date. I’ve been doing this long enough to know that the name on your diploma will say little about how your four years will unfold or even how well prepared you’ll be for the decades that follow. The best college list reflects your individuality, ambitions, and values. It prioritizes an environment where you’ll be both supported and challenged, where the resources match your goals, and where you can see yourself not just surviving, but thriving. For some students, an Ivy school is the perfect fit, for others, it’s a large state school with as vibrant a sports culture as its cutting-edge research programs.

When done well, this process replaces anxiety with clarity. And with the right guidance, you won’t just apply to impressive schools—you’ll apply to the right schools. That’s the real mark of a strategic, student-centered admissions plan. It’s the most important part of my job, and the part I take most seriously—helping students find their new homes.