Reach vs Match/safety

Otterma
Fri, 26 Jan 2018 21:39:51 +0000

It’s awfully difficult to get a good education if you’re struggling academically. It’s easier to get a great education if your mind is at ease regarding debt (ie, the future) and if you are comfortable enough with the workload to want to explore subjects in-depth rather than just treading water hoping to keep afloat.

But as others have noted, the correlation between academic difficulty and school selectivity is tenuous. Exceptions would be schools like CalTech and MIT, or maybe majors like math, where being towards the bottom of the curve coming in could lead to feelings of isolation for some students.