<p>Not everyone has a safety, nor does everyone need a safety. Especially if you are willing to pay full freight or are not adverse to going to a local/community college. The reason you want a good safety is because of the security you feel in having a school you really like, can afford, that will be sure to take you. It is also the most difficult school to find for most kids, particularly those who have their eyes on the more selective, well known schools. </p>
<p>We were very lucky this time around, in that my son found several safeties that he really liked. That allowed him to pick a number of reaches in terms of financial and other factors. It was no big deal for him to turn down a more selective school that did not give him any money, because he truly like other schools as much or more that did come up with merit funds. When he got into his most selective school, his super reach, with the bonus of affordability, he found he preferred a school on its on merits. By not ordering the school in terms of safety, match and reach in his mind, he was able to hone in on what he really liked.</p>
<p>By applying to a lot of match and reach schools, you have probably eliminated a need for a safety. That is, if your student truly likes those schools as well. Many adcoms can smell when a school is not first choice, and few kids are sophisticated enough to hide their disdains. They think they can, but… well, I’ve seen them. These days, it can make a difference in acceptance. As a result, it is too possible not to to get into schools that should have easy, given the stats. Several kids at my son’s school who were accepted to some selective schools were waitlisted and denied at what should have been strong match schools. They easily could have been denied at their reach schools. If you throw finances into the mix, you very well should have a safety.</p>
<p>My oldest son was an athlete. As a result he applied to mostly reach schools. At that time, I was gullible and naive enough to think that he would have a big advantage and be first in line for $$s. Did not work that way. He was denied and waitlisted at half of his choices, and only got one scholarship at a safety school that his GC insisted he throw into the mix. He nearly did not get into his state school due to a mix up in SSNs, which likely would have been a huge problem if it weren’t for the fact that he was an athlete and the coach straightened it out. He would have been in a fix if we were not able to pay full freight. With this third one, we did not have that luxury, but we were wiser to the way things worked, and made sure he had a good mix of possibillities with a number of safeties.</p>