This is 100% true.
It’s an element of the process that sometimes gets left out of discussions about deciding on safeties, reaches, etc. It was the main wildcard for D17.
For S23, half of his schools were safeties, but to get the most merit at any of those three would be about as long a shot as getting into the “easier” of his two reaches. His one target school was really only affordable with the largest merit, which he didn’t get a chance to interview for, but he is trying to cobble some scholarships together to make it a possibility. If not, he will be happy at his safeties (at least at two of them.)
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