<p>While I totally agree picking by prestige is silly ( and a bad fit will not make for a successful high school career-- or, therefore, lead to a great college outcome), there are schools that are more academic than others, and that is one measure to think about when considering fit. For example, the school I referred to above (with the 2 sisters) has about a 35-40% admission rate and 60-61 percentile avg SSATs. That’s going to lead to a bigger range of kids, in terms of academic interest and achievement, than some of the most academic and selective schools. It doesn’t mean there aren’t super smart kids there, or that some don’t go to great colleges, or that the school doesn’t have great teachers – it just means there is a bigger range. Some kids like the range, some kids want a place where most of the kids are very serious about academics. The word “tier,” I suppose, is too vague-- as we know, some people think anything other than Andover or Exeter is “second tier.” But there has to be some way to talk about schools that are very academically focused and selective, and those that are not-- again, NOT to say everyone should be applying only to the Andovers of this world, but to say that’s ONE criterion to consider–positively or negatively.</p>