What’s the best way to go about applying to graduate school? First, don’t let the ivy-covered brick walls, cheerful websites and smiling administrators fool you. Universities are run like businesses...
The self-promotion is a little over the top here. As for the advice in your short article, it's incredibly generic and likely something that an adviser would tell their undergraduate students. Though the author may have post-secondary education, this article does not convey it. Case in point, using national rankings to guide selection. Anyone in graduate school understands that national rankings are generally overstated, especially for doctorate programs. If you're a student studying under a famous professor who happens to be at No-Name University, people in-the-know will understand why you went there. And demonstrating that you're a "good fit" to the university? That matters very little. In fact, if you solicit a particular professor to study with (which you should be doing), he or she will very likely be able to get you in. If you're applying to programs willy-nilly because you think you should have a graduate degree to differentiate yourself from the swaths of BA/BS degree holders, rethink your decision to go. This introductory article is of poor quality and offers no real insights into graduate school. in my opinion.