Are my safeties safe enough?

College Search & Selection
1

<p>In coming up with my list of safeties, I only included schools that I would like to attend. However, I am concerned that my safeties aren't safe enough. </p>

<p>stats:
GPA: 4.0 weighted, ranked 1st in class</p>

<p>SAT:
CR: 800
M: 660 (I know - I'm bad at SAT math)
estimated W: 760-800 (test got messed up; having a re-score done, will find out in a few weeks for sure)</p>

<p>Literature subject test: 780
World History subject test: 760</p>

<p>AP World History: 5
AP English Language: 4
AP US Government and Politics: 5</p>

<p>Career interest - infectious diseases
Probable major: one of the sciences or sociology</p>

<p>-Earlham
-Kalamazoo
-Bryn Mawr
-Hampshire</p>

<p>Are these schools good safeties? If not, please suggest some alternatives. </p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

2

<p>For a school to be a safety, you have to know FOR SURE that you’ll have all costs covered. </p>

<p>No school is a safety if you can’t afford to go there.</p>

<p>Do you know how much your parents will pay each year? Will your parents pay however much these schools will expect them to pay? If you’re not sure how much these schools will expect your parents to pay and you’re not sure how much your parents will pay…you need to find out. </p>

<p>If you’re not sure that you’ll have all costs covered (thru ASSURED scholarships/grants, small student loans, and family funds), then you need to find a couple of other schools.</p>

<p>If your parents will pay whatever they’re expected to pay, then it looks like you have a good list.</p>

3

<p>Leaving any financial considerations aside, they seem like good safeties for you. Do you have a financial safety?</p>

4

<p>Are you sure your GPA isn’t UN-weighted if you are ranked #1?</p>

5

<p>Academic Safety: You know for certain that you will be admitted based on your grades and test scores. You know this because it is posted right on the college/university website and/or your high school has years of records of admission at that place and no one with your profile has ever been rejected.</p>

<p>Financial Safety: You know for certain that you can afford it without any aid other than federally determined (FAFSA) aid and/or guaranteed state aid and/or guaranteed merit-based aid from that college/university.</p>

<p>Please note that some Financial Safeties will not be academically safe, and some Academic Safeties will not be financially safe.</p>

<p>Rock-Solid Safety: Meets the criteria for both Academic and Financial Safety.</p>

<p>True Safety: A Rock-Solid that not only offers your major(s) but you are willing to attend.</p>

<p>You have an excellent profile, but quite frankly you haven’t dipped low enough to hit sure-shot Academic Safeties. These are more like dead-on matches. Even if you would get in, will you be able to afford them? If you won’t be a full-pay student, run the financial aid calculators at each website so that you get a general notion of what your aid package could be like.</p>

<p>For a clear academic and financial safety, take a long hard look at the public universities in your home state. I understand that there is tuition reciprocity with Minnesota which could make the public institutions there decent potential safeties. One that you should investigate is [University</a> of Minnesota Morris](<a href=“http://www.morris.umn.edu/]University”>http://www.morris.umn.edu/) which bills itself as a public liberal arts college. For more public liberal arts colleges see [COPLAC</a> | Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges](<a href=“http://www.coplac.org/members.html]COPLAC”>http://www.coplac.org/members.html)</p>

<p>You also seem to like Quaker institutions. For more see [Quaker-originated</a> Colleges and Universities](<a href=“http://www.quaker.org/colleges.html]Quaker-originated”>Quaker-originated Colleges and Universities) There are a number that are lower ranked than BMC and Earlham. I know a science major at Guilford who has been very happy with her big (at least partially merit-based) scholarship [Guilford</a> College](<a href=“http://www.guilford.edu/]Guilford”>http://www.guilford.edu/)</p>

<p>There are scads of decent liberal arts colleges throughout the midwest, some of which could throw a bit of money your way. Take another look at some of them as well.</p>

<p>Wishing you all the best!</p>

6

<p>The OP’s SATs are very comfortably up in the top 25% for both Earlham and Kalamazoo, and she’s a val besides, with a GPA significantly above their averages, and some good AP scores. Both schools accept around 75% of applicants. I really do not think she has to go any lower to find a safety.</p>

<p>Bryn Mawr and Hampshire are a bit more difficult admits, but still very solidly in the match category, IMHO.</p>

<p>She will, of course, need a competent essay and solid recs. Bad recs could lead small schools of this type to reject a very qualified candidate. That, or an appearance of having phoned in the application.</p>

<p>All four are good, interesting schools, and well chosen alternatives for an intellectually-inclined student. </p>

<p>None of this addresses the issue of financial safety, though.</p>

7

<p>If you’re considering Bryn Mawr, please add Smith to your list! Excellent “admission value” and they do offer aid.</p>

<p>Also – University of Rochester – I just met a doctor who spoke very highly of the students education there (in terms of preparing them well for medical school, if that is someday of interest).</p>

<p>Good luck</p>

8

<p>Earlham in particular is a wonderful school, and shoudl be a “safety.” But remember that schools like that are excellent because they care about the composition of their student body. Make sure they know that you care about the school, and do in fact consider it a place you’d be happy to attend even if your scores would suggest that you are considering them “safeties.”</p>

9

<p>*Academic Safety: You know for certain that you will be admitted based on your grades and test scores. You know this because it is posted right on the college/university website and/or your high school has years of records of admission at that place and no one with your profile has ever been rejected.</p>

<p>Financial Safety: You know for certain that you can afford it without any aid other than federally determined (FAFSA) aid and/or guaranteed state aid and/or guaranteed merit-based aid from that college/university.</p>

<p>Please note that some Financial Safeties will not be academically safe, and some Academic Safeties will not be financially safe.</p>

<p>Rock-Solid Safety: Meets the criteria for both Academic and Financial Safety.</p>

<p>True Safety: A Rock-Solid that not only offers your major(s) but you are willing to attend.*</p>

<p>I really can’t figure out why the need for all these different safety labels…especially when students are often just applying to 1-3 safeties and the rest are reaches and matches.</p>

<p>To me, a safety needs to meet the following criteria:</p>

<p>1) The student must like the school and be willing to attend it if the other schools don’t work out.</p>

<p>2) The school must have the student’s intended major, but also a variety of majors in case the student changes his major at some point.</p>

<p>3) The student must be virtually 100% certain of admittance (for instance, at a state school that has guaranteed acceptance for certain stats if you apply on time.).</p>

<p>4) The student must be certain that he has all costs covered thru ASSURED govt grants, ASSURED merit scholarships, small fed student loans, and/or family funds. Of course, you must be certain how much your parents will be contributing in “family funds” if you’d be relying on those funds to pay for your safety.</p>

<p>If a school doesn’t meet the above criteria, it’s not a safety (aka financial safety). It can be a “possible,” but not a safety. As long a student has 1-3 safeties that meet the above listed criteria, he then can apply to whichever other schools he wants with the security of knowing that he has at least one “in the bag.”</p>

10

<p>Thank you all very much for your thoughtful responses. (1) I am relieved that my safeties seem fairly safe (thanks Consolation). (2) Thanks for the advice to make sure I can actually afford to go. I had just assumed that within our (below $75000) income bracket, sufficient aid was guaranteed. Ha! Anyway, I could definitely afford Hampshire, but the other three would be a bit steep. They’re workable, but I would be left with a bit more debt than I would like to take on and things would tight for my parents for a while. So, I’ll try to find one or two more safeties that I am certain I can afford. Thanks Classof2015 and happymomof1 for the suggestions - I will check those schools out.</p>

<p>-jshain - yes, the GPA really is weighted (unweighted it is 3.9; they have a weird weighting system, but that doesn’t really matter) - I go to a school with a lot of kids who aren’t very interested in the whole learning thing. </p>

<p>-Classof2015: thanks for the Smith recommendation - it is already on my list in the match column.</p>

<p>-momwonders: Thanks for your advice; I think I would enjoy Earlham and will try to convey that to them.</p>