Advice to rising senior on elite school apps

You should apply early to the one school where you are the best fit. You should spend time figuring out where you are the best fit, and you should articulate the fit in your essays — show, not tell. If your assessment is correct, the school is also likely to feel the fit. Then the chances of a positive outcome are the highest. Those three are entirely different schools. You can’t be a great fit at all three.