In this study, we draw on person-environment fit theory to analyze whether academic success is best explained by individual abilities subjectively "exceeding" situational demands or by abilities "matching" the demands. Moreover, we disentangled effects of perceived abilities and subjective person-environment (P-E) fit on academic success. All in all, 693 teacher education students participated in an online questionnaire. Students were asked to rate general requirements of their academic programs (e.g., self-discipline) on a 5-point scale in terms of (1) their own abilities and (2) the perceived relevance for their studies. P-E fit was determined by difference scores between abilities and relevance ratings. Academic success was assessed by grades, perceived performance, and study satisfaction. Data were analyzed through structural equation modeling and suggest that academic success is best explained by a match between abilities and demands. Moreover, all three criteria for academic success were more strongly related to subjective fit than to subjective abilities.