Anonymous
02/16/2026 07:53
Subject: Top School vs. Best Fit. Is Prestige Worth Being in the Bottom Half?
Anonymous wrote:OP: what is your SAT score? Over and over again they found a high correlation between the SAT score and the academic performance in colleges, especially in T10 colleges. I think if you score above their 75% line, it’s unlikely you will be in the bottom half.
+1
Anonymous
02/16/2026 07:52
Subject: Top School vs. Best Fit. Is Prestige Worth Being in the Bottom Half?
Anonymous wrote:At places like top 10, half the class is going to be below the median, 25% of the class will be below top 75 percentile. That’s just how it works.
I get it that you’re still surrounded by smart people, big-name professors, and strong recruiting pipelines. But does that actually translate into good outcomes for students in the bottom half or bottom quartiel? Are they still landing solid jobs and grad school placements?
On the flip side, what
if you went to a slightly less selective school and ended up in the top 10–20%? You might get more leadership roles, closer relationships with professors, stronger recommendation letters, and maybe just more confidence overall. Does standing out more beat having a big brand name on your resume?
How people think about this tradeoff. Is prestige worth it even if you’re below average there? Or is it smarter to pick the place where you’re more likely to shine?
Would love to hear from people who’ve actually seen this play out.
Best to be the the top-quarter student at a top school. Prestige and you can stand out from the pack.
Anonymous
02/15/2026 22:41
Subject: Top School vs. Best Fit. Is Prestige Worth Being in the Bottom Half?
Correct. A couple T10 schools like Chicago are test optional with at least a quarter of the class not submitting scores. If OP’s DC has a decent test score, they won’t be in the bottom 25% or even the bottom half.
Anonymous
02/15/2026 22:31
Subject: Top School vs. Best Fit. Is Prestige Worth Being in the Bottom Half?
OP: what is your SAT score? Over and over again they found a high correlation between the SAT score and the academic performance in colleges, especially in T10 colleges. I think if you score above their 75% line, it’s unlikely you will be in the bottom half.
Anonymous
02/15/2026 22:17
Subject: Top School vs. Best Fit. Is Prestige Worth Being in the Bottom Half?
If you get into a top ten school and aren’t a recruited athlete, URM and are from the DMV with middle kr upper middle class parents, you will likely be in the top half of your class.
Anonymous
02/15/2026 18:20
Subject: Top School vs. Best Fit. Is Prestige Worth Being in the Bottom Half?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:At places like top 10, half the class is going to be below the median, 25% of the class will be below top 75 percentile. That’s just how it works.
I get it that you’re still surrounded by smart people, big-name professors, and strong recruiting pipelines. But does that actually translate into good outcomes for students in the bottom half or bottom quartiel? Are they still landing solid jobs and grad school placements?
On the flip side, what if you went to a slightly less selective school and ended up in the top 10–20%? You might get more leadership roles, closer relationships with professors, stronger recommendation letters, and maybe just more confidence overall. Does standing out more beat having a big brand name on your resume?
How people think about this tradeoff. Is prestige worth it even if you’re below average there? Or is it smarter to pick the place where you’re more likely to shine?
Would love to hear from people who’ve actually seen this play out.
A bottom half Harvard student would not be top 10-20% at JHU, Rice, Michigan, etc
A bottom-half ivy kid who got in unhooked would have a very good shot at top 20% at Michigan, or UVA for that matter. Look at the stats from when test scores were required. JHU, of course not because JHU has essentially the same score distribution as Harvard/ivies! Rice is between the two.
We know many ivy students, as well as JHU, and UVA, michigan too. "Stars" with 3.9+ at UVA and Michigan are pulling 158-160 on the LSAT, well below the average at ivies.
Worse is UGA: bio major, 3.92, could not get above a 505 on the MCAT and had many premed peers with similar scores.
Meanwhile 3.82, JHU, MCAT 517 which is around average there, into NYU with a full merit as well as their state med school, waiting on answers from some T15 med where they interviewed recently.
Anonymous
02/15/2026 18:12
Subject: Top School vs. Best Fit. Is Prestige Worth Being in the Bottom Half?
Anonymous wrote:I’m pretty sure I graduated in the bottom half of my T10 - no actual class rank, but I missed the cum laude cutoff.
I then crushed the LSAT, went to a T14 law school and then on to BigLaw in NYC.
No regrets. I may have graduated in the bottom half, but my college actually WAS the perfect fit for me. Yes, my GPA took a hit the first two years - mostly because I was having a ton of fun and came in without the necessary time management and study skills to truly balance work and play.
But I never once wished I had gone to a less rigorous or intense school. I knew I belonged where I ended up. I was every bit as bright as my classmates and just as curious and interested in the rigorous curriculum. I just didn’t go the extra mile the first two years like many of my classmates did automatically. (Didn’t go to office hours, barely revised my papers, and didn’t always study properly for tests.)
So I finished with a lower GPA, but I got an incredible education, including learning how to kick it into a higher gear when needed. It all served me very well in law school (high grades) and as a lawyer, too.
so happy for you!
Anonymous
02/15/2026 18:04
Subject: Top School vs. Best Fit. Is Prestige Worth Being in the Bottom Half?
Who cares?
Anonymous
02/15/2026 17:47
Subject: Top School vs. Best Fit. Is Prestige Worth Being in the Bottom Half?
Anonymous wrote:I’m pretty sure I graduated in the bottom half of my T10 - no actual class rank, but I missed the cum laude cutoff.
I then crushed the LSAT, went to a T14 law school and then on to BigLaw in NYC.
No regrets. I may have graduated in the bottom half, but my college actually WAS the perfect fit for me. Yes, my GPA took a hit the first two years - mostly because I was having a ton of fun and came in without the necessary time management and study skills to truly balance work and play.
But I never once wished I had gone to a less rigorous or intense school. I knew I belonged where I ended up. I was every bit as bright as my classmates and just as curious and interested in the rigorous curriculum. I just didn’t go the extra mile the first two years like many of my classmates did automatically. (Didn’t go to office hours, barely revised my papers, and didn’t always study properly for tests.)
So I finished with a lower GPA, but I got an incredible education, including learning how to kick it into a higher gear when needed. It all served me very well in law school (high grades) and as a lawyer, too.
I feel like this wouldn't happen these days - T14 law schools have tons of 3.9+ GPA applicants to choose from.
Anonymous
02/15/2026 17:46
Subject: Top School vs. Best Fit. Is Prestige Worth Being in the Bottom Half?
Anonymous wrote:At places like top 10, half the class is going to be below the median, 25% of the class will be below top 75 percentile. That’s just how it works.
I get it that you’re still surrounded by smart people, big-name professors, and strong recruiting pipelines. But does that actually translate into good outcomes for students in the bottom half or bottom quartiel? Are they still landing solid jobs and grad school placements?
On the flip side, what if you went to a slightly less selective school and ended up in the top 10–20%? You might get more leadership roles, closer relationships with professors, stronger recommendation letters, and maybe just more confidence overall. Does standing out more beat having a big brand name on your resume?
How people think about this tradeoff. Is prestige worth it even if you’re below average there? Or is it smarter to pick the place where you’re more likely to shine?
Would love to hear from people who’ve actually seen this play out.
A bottom half Harvard student would not be top 10-20% at JHU, Rice, Michigan, etc
Anonymous
02/15/2026 17:36
Subject: Top School vs. Best Fit. Is Prestige Worth Being in the Bottom Half?
Anonymous wrote:At places like top 10, half the class is going to be below the median, 25% of the class will be below top 75 percentile. That’s just how it works.
I get it that you’re still surrounded by smart people, big-name professors, and strong recruiting pipelines. But does that actually translate into good outcomes for students in the bottom half or bottom quartiel? Are they still landing solid jobs and grad school placements?
On the flip side, what if you went to a slightly less selective school and ended up in the top 10–20%? You might get more leadership roles, closer relationships with professors, stronger recommendation letters, and maybe just more confidence overall. Does standing out more beat having a big brand name on your resume?
How people think about this tradeoff. Is prestige worth it even if you’re below average there? Or is it smarter to pick the place where you’re more likely to shine?
Would love to hear from people who’ve actually seen this play out.
The bottom quartile at ivy+ schools is athletes and hooked students. If you are unhooked it is highly unlikely you will end up that low unless you burn out or have significant issues.
Below average but not bottom quartile GPA (3.5-3.70) at DC's ivy gets one into law and medical school and get hired various places. They are not top law or med but they get in with more frequency than the national-average tables for that GPA indicate. Of course, much of that is due to "below average" students at these schools having LSAT of 161-162 or MCAT of 513, both good enough for top 20-30 law and top 50-75 MD programs per the data from the ivy.
Ivies have tables, as do top LACs and other elites.
TLDR: bottom half is just fine if the undergrad is elite.
Anonymous
02/15/2026 17:17
Subject: Top School vs. Best Fit. Is Prestige Worth Being in the Bottom Half?
I’m pretty sure I graduated in the bottom half of my T10 - no actual class rank, but I missed the cum laude cutoff.
I then crushed the LSAT, went to a T14 law school and then on to BigLaw in NYC.
No regrets. I may have graduated in the bottom half, but my college actually WAS the perfect fit for me. Yes, my GPA took a hit the first two years - mostly because I was having a ton of fun and came in without the necessary time management and study skills to truly balance work and play.
But I never once wished I had gone to a less rigorous or intense school. I knew I belonged where I ended up. I was every bit as bright as my classmates and just as curious and interested in the rigorous curriculum. I just didn’t go the extra mile the first two years like many of my classmates did automatically. (Didn’t go to office hours, barely revised my papers, and didn’t always study properly for tests.)
So I finished with a lower GPA, but I got an incredible education, including learning how to kick it into a higher gear when needed. It all served me very well in law school (high grades) and as a lawyer, too.
I then crushed the LSAT, went to a T14 law school and then on to BigLaw in NYC.
No regrets. I may have graduated in the bottom half, but my college actually WAS the perfect fit for me. Yes, my GPA took a hit the first two years - mostly because I was having a ton of fun and came in without the necessary time management and study skills to truly balance work and play.
But I never once wished I had gone to a less rigorous or intense school. I knew I belonged where I ended up. I was every bit as bright as my classmates and just as curious and interested in the rigorous curriculum. I just didn’t go the extra mile the first two years like many of my classmates did automatically. (Didn’t go to office hours, barely revised my papers, and didn’t always study properly for tests.)
So I finished with a lower GPA, but I got an incredible education, including learning how to kick it into a higher gear when needed. It all served me very well in law school (high grades) and as a lawyer, too.
Anonymous
02/15/2026 15:56
Subject: Top School vs. Best Fit. Is Prestige Worth Being in the Bottom Half?
You need a life. It’s unlikely your kid gets this choice.
Wait for late March and then post.
Wait for late March and then post.
Anonymous
02/15/2026 15:53
Subject: Top School vs. Best Fit. Is Prestige Worth Being in the Bottom Half?
Yes, yes and yes
Anonymous
02/15/2026 14:58
Subject: Top School vs. Best Fit. Is Prestige Worth Being in the Bottom Half?
At places like top 10, half the class is going to be below the median, 25% of the class will be below top 75 percentile. That’s just how it works.
I get it that you’re still surrounded by smart people, big-name professors, and strong recruiting pipelines. But does that actually translate into good outcomes for students in the bottom half or bottom quartiel? Are they still landing solid jobs and grad school placements?
On the flip side, what if you went to a slightly less selective school and ended up in the top 10–20%? You might get more leadership roles, closer relationships with professors, stronger recommendation letters, and maybe just more confidence overall. Does standing out more beat having a big brand name on your resume?
How people think about this tradeoff. Is prestige worth it even if you’re below average there? Or is it smarter to pick the place where you’re more likely to shine?
Would love to hear from people who’ve actually seen this play out.
I get it that you’re still surrounded by smart people, big-name professors, and strong recruiting pipelines. But does that actually translate into good outcomes for students in the bottom half or bottom quartiel? Are they still landing solid jobs and grad school placements?
On the flip side, what if you went to a slightly less selective school and ended up in the top 10–20%? You might get more leadership roles, closer relationships with professors, stronger recommendation letters, and maybe just more confidence overall. Does standing out more beat having a big brand name on your resume?
How people think about this tradeoff. Is prestige worth it even if you’re below average there? Or is it smarter to pick the place where you’re more likely to shine?
Would love to hear from people who’ve actually seen this play out.