This advice seems sound to me, and it was how I viewed things before my oldest (S23) started applying for colleges this year. But one of the challenges I have experienced is that schools that are “a good fit for his SAT and GPA” are also schools that seem to emphasize significant rigor.
I mean, in the end, my son is going to go to college somewhere. It will be a fine fit and a fine experience and he will learn the skills he needs to get a decent job.
But, there seem to be very few schools that are actually “a good fit“ < on paper, by the stats > for someone with 95th percentile stats, who doesn’t also have 5+ AP classes.