<p>The school can’t predict where a kid will end up. But admitting kids who demonstrate at least a modicum of interest in your college is likely a better way to go than accepting the kids who seem to be applying under duress.</p>
<p>I know kids accepted to Dartmouth who were rejected at Brandeis and BC. I know kids accepted to Amherst who were rejected from Wesleyan and Lehigh. Guidance counselor had made noises like, “Brandeis would love to have a kid like you in its Freshman class” which is most emphatically not the same thing as saying, “Brandeis will not and cannot reject you even though you are in the top 10% of applicants and are full pay”. So throw some love towards the schools at the bottom of your list, even if according to naviance, no kid with your stats has ever been rejected from that school.</p>