<p>@bruno14 although it’s one application, isn’t it more money to apply to more than one?</p>
<p>**Be sure that your safeties<a href=“in%20addition%20to%20being%20definite%20for%20admissions”>/b</a> are definitely affordable, have good computer science degree programs (if ABET accredited for computer science, it passes this test; if not, you have to check its courses and curricula carefully to see if it is good), and are places that you would like to go to. Too many students seem to post here about getting in only to unwanted safety schools, which means that they did not choose safeties that they like in the first place.</p>
<p>I’d say USC would be a safety. Not sure about UCLA. My stats were 4.4 GPA and 2040 SAT. Bot into USC but waitlisted for UCLA. USC is really just looking at GPA and SAT score. Your SAT is really high so you shouldn’t need to worry. Your GPA isn’t too shabby and your awards are impressive. USC should be cake.</p>
<p>@sesamesesame 2390 SAT…</p>
<p>@ThousandMiles :O</p>
<p>Now I’m confused whether I can consider it a safety or not… some say yes, some say no. Hm, would you guys consider UC San Diego a safety then? It’s still a good school but slightly lower than the caliber of UCLA/USC.</p>
<p>IMO, a safety means a ~90% chance of acceptance. And under that definition, both schools are a safety for you. (UC will get excited over the OOS money, and 'SC will get excited over the test scores.) But a 90% chance also means a 10% chance of rejection.</p>
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<p>I disagree and think it wise to still refer to them as reach, match, and safety schools. Before this year, I would have said that with your stats (assuming an unweighted GPA of 3.9) that UCLA would have been a safety but not any more. My neighbor got rejected at UCLA with the same GPA as you and a 2280 SAT I score. UCLA is a match, but not a safety for almost everyone these days.</p>
<p>USC and UCLA are definitely not safeties, however, you CAN call them matches. Matches means that you have a fair chance of being accepted OR waitlisted/rejected – It means that you are in the middle 50% of the applicant pool. So as to your excellent SAT score–they are both low matches/high safeties for you IMHO. </p>
<p>And UC San Diego is actually becoming more selective and closer to UCLA’s excellence – However, it is still underselective compared to USC/UCLA. It is a great school.</p>
<p>Post #23, I would have thought the opposite. With that UC GPA and SAT, you would have gotten into UCLA and not USC.</p>
<p>OP, USC/UCLA are safeties if you look into your naviance. Naviance only shows GPA/SAT, no ECs, no essays, etc… So if someone writes a bad essay, they should be rejected but our high school’s naviance shows no reject for 4.0uw(4.6+ ucgpa) with 2300+.
But add more schools just in case you are wrong.</p>
<p>There are a few posters this year who are comparing full ride USC Mork scholarship offers with full pay Ivies. The process is unpredictable enough for even those individuals not to consider USC a safety, until perhaps after decisions are out.</p>
<p>Post #30, scholarships are a different game altogether.</p>
<p>My point is if one is qualified enough to receive a Mork scholarship as well as acceptance to other top schools (and there are some on this site) perhaps those few would consider USC a safety. Just surmising.</p>
<p>USC, and most specially, UCLA, are safeties by anybody with superb stats no more.</p>
<p>Over at the UCLA forum, I saw at least 4 students who got into MIT last year but not UCLA. One was also turned down by UCLA but not Harvard. The UCs (especially UC Berkeley) are unpredictable, due to their holistic admissions system.</p>
<p>Post #33, that’s the 10% that Bluebayou mentioned. Only community colleges are 100% guarantee acceptance.</p>
<p>no chance of those being safeties. they deny kids every year with numbers that qualify for ivies and other academically superior schools. usc and ucla are top schools in the country and they cant take everyone remember that. aim a little lower for safety schools, ones you know youll get in.</p>
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<p>There was a thread some months ago about a spreadsheet of admission decisions for seniors at a high school in southern California. Many more got into USC but not UCLA than the other way around, so it is fair to say that UCLA is generally more selective than USC and that getting into UCLA but not USC is not that likely compared to other combinations of accept/reject at these two schools.</p>
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<p>Safeties where admissions can be reliably determined before application do exist at four year schools:
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/1314309-how-find-assured-admissions-safety.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/1314309-how-find-assured-admissions-safety.html</a></p>
<p>ucb, I’m not arguing which school is more selective. Rather I argued that high UC GPA and low SAT is more to UCLA liking than USC.</p>
<p>Yeah, USC and UCLA is usually a “reach” or a “maybe.” Try an easier college in which you think you’ll really get in, no doubt.</p>
<p>I’m already applying to my state flagship which, although it isn’t 100% assured admission, may as well be because over 50% of my school goes there every year and I am well above the average scores at that school. So I have 2 definite safeties and 2 sorta/kinda safetymatches (USC and UCLA). Then the rest of my list is all reaches. Is this solid or should I add more safeties?</p>
<p>As an out of state student (presuming you are not a California resident, since the state flagship would not normally be considered a safety for anyone), can you afford UCLA? Check its net price calculator.</p>