Your "best on paper" situations can prove total failures, and your "last option" school may prove the best fit. You never know without doing some leg work and some trial and error.
Yes! And this was precisely the point I was making. Couldn't have said it better!
I hear what you're saying about anecdotal evidence. It certainly doesn't meet rigorous standards of logic. But this is a forum where we're sharing our experiences, so I don't think anecdotal evidence is inappropriate here, given the context. Besides, what else do we have but our shared experiences? I know I've learned a TON here from the experiences of others. Frankly, it's why I'm here.
And again, just for the record, I was NEVER slamming GT schools. I'm glad they're out there, and I know (from anecdotal evidence!
) that they're often a WONDERFUL solution!
