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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I think people are using fit in two ways: 
* Objective preferences, like size, location, weather, academic strengths, facilities, etc. 
* Subjective/cultural preferences, like artsy, preppy, intellectual, hippyish, pre professional, etc.

OP asserts that the second meaning doesn't matter past a certain size, say the "Goldilocks" threshold of about 7-9000 undergrads. I think this sounds reasonable. At that size, you go for the best ranked school that meets your objective criteria, generally.[/quote]

Basically, all large schools are essentially the same and have many different  kinds of students, so if one is a fit, they all are. Fit might become more regional at that size (e.g., Berkley v. Bama v. Wisconsin v. U of SC). The smaller you get, the more the feel of the school and the type of student the school generally admits matters (e.g., Washington and Lee v Reed).[/quote]
I think the difference between large schools is more academic. Berkeley is a massive cutthroat hell that does not help you. It is much more competitive than Bama.

[b]Small colleges tend to be similar in terms of their peers: Williams isn't that different to Amherst isn't that different to Pomona. Colby and Bates are pretty similar, etc.[/b][/quote]

I would have assumed this but found when DD was narrowing down her choices for a rural/small town LAC with a strong environmental program (not looking at elite schools), she got a really clear sense that some felt right to her and some didn't. For her, this "vibe" read mattered a lot on top of her basic school characteristic requirements.[/quote]
Every college has small differences. But, for as much as people talk up the rigor of Swarthmore, Pomona students who have studied away in their exchange program have found it...pretty much the same experience just in the East Coast. The only massive exception I have found for this is Reed, but that is because they should likely be somewhere near the level of WASP if they could get their retention rate up.[/quote]

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