The only 100% probability of admittance schools for my D would have been community college or state flagship, neither of which would have been a good fit for her, and financially there was a distinct possibility of going to an LAC for the same price as flagship.
The whole point of categorizing colleges is to give the applicant more options. Too many kids (and parents) would just shoot for the name brands and the flagship because it’s all they know.
We called the schools D applied to “finalists.” They weren’t strictly ranked but broadly grouped into:
pretty sure bet (flagship “safety”)
you’ll probably get accepted -OR- out of these four, I think at least 1 or 2 will accept you
it’s a stretch but you never know
I looked at admission stats both in general, for ED, and for her school in Naviance.
Finances were a big factor. I gave each finalist a FinAid grade based on Net Cost for the 3 lowest income tiers according to College Navigator. They got a grade (A through D) for each tier and then I averaged it to give them an overall grade. I also looked into average loans and indebtedness of graduates. It all pretty much tracked the grades I gave.
So then the discussion became, you’ll probably be accepted here but I don’t think they’ll give enough aid, or This one is a long shot, but if you get accepted, you’ll probably get all the aid you need. Likelihood of admission and affordability are inversely related and we were hoping for a cosmic convergence just where we needed it, which did in fact happen.
The FinAid college grades were tempered by the knowledge that D got very generous FinAid from a boarding school that, if I had been assigning FinAid grades during that application process, probably would have gotten a D. Sometimes schools will ante up for just the right student, those cases of “they want more students like you.”
And I’m enjoying all the new terminology, though personally favor those that express difficulty/likelihood over those that suggest that the more difficult ones are necessarily also the “premium” options while the more accessible ones are necessarily third rate. That can be the case – we could all name safeties that would really be last resorts for our kids – but ideally a list wouldn’t include options that are actively undesirable.
My older kids liked a lot about all the schools on their lists, though of course some colleges met more of the desired criteria than others. But they were high stat applicants. If S didn’t get into Dartmouth, then a school like Colgate would still be a great place to spend four years. For my youngest, who is not a high stat applicant, the search is tougher. First, there’s a correlation between ranking and financial aid. So many of the nice schools which might accept her are simply out of reach. Three match or safety schools on her list that we had to nix due to cost were Fordham, Drew, and Albright. Other mid tier colleges were similarly expensive based on the NPCs. So that leaves us with a state school like Montclair (Rutgers would not be a safety for her, but a match or low reach), and we just can’t get that excited about a school where only freshman and athletes live on campus, and a school where we saw not one poster for a lecture or academic event. So that is why I understand how a kid can say he doesn’t like the schools where he got in and that doesn’t mean he didn’t do due diligence or needs an attitude adjustment.
Fair enough. But I think for kids angling for super selective schools, it’s a mistake to think of the excellent schools where they are still “likelies” as chopped liver. Arguably a different story for a kid whose options are more limited … but still one would hope for more optimistic classifications.
Great thread, @MotherOfDragons ! The terms safety, match, and reach have bugged me, too.
My favorite so far is by @payn4ward : Earth, Moon, Comet, Financial Black Hole. That keeps the “rating” feeling out of it, as these are all terrific places/things, but they all clearly have different odds of attainability.
Since I’m a beach lover, how about:
Brown sand beach (most common color, but great because it is, after all, a beach)
White sand beach (not as common; again, great because it’s a beach)
Black sand beach (rare; again, great)
Do I have my personal preference for the sand on a beach? Sure. (Love those white sand beaches, especially ones like Siesta Key beaches, with powdery soft sand. Ahhh…) But, almost any beach would be nice and spectacular in its own way, so it’s not about desirability, it’s about odds!
"But, almost any beach would be nice and spectacular in its own way, so it’s not about desirability, it’s about odds! "
Any beach will fit us, but say, not the dirty one with possible criminals hiding under the bridge. Match between specific college and specific student is extremely important and more so in very challenging academic tracks. You want them to focus on academics, social life…etc. You do not want them to be annoyed with their surroundings, just like you do not want to be on a dirty beach. Consequences maybe mild and maybe overcoming or very severe. The adjustment to independent life and much higher level of academics at college vs HS will derail some from their initial track. The chance of this happening is lower if enough research is done before hand, not in regard to the odds of getting in, but rather in regard to how well each college will fit a student, how well it matches to student’s personal criteria. And if a kid is going for something like engineering or pre-med, he better think much harder and research much more to be able to live happily in the strange place that he will call home for the next 4-5 years. Getting accepted is much easier in some cases than staying on your intended academic track. I am not talking about cases when kids change major because they realized that they are in the wrong one for themselves. No, I am talking about very many cases when the top caliber students (valedictorians) simply realize that they have to adjust their academic efforts up considerably to stay where they want to stay. This adjustment is much easier if nothing else around them bother them too much. This adjustment is a must in some academic tracks right in the first semester of the freshman year, or you may be gone, by, by valedictorian, you simply are not good for what you choose to do.
That’s why I said, “…almost any beach…” Of course, there are ones that aren’t on my “to visit” list, just as not all colleges would make my initial college list, if I were making one. Once I determined which colleges attracted me, I could determine where they fit on the spectrum of brown/white/black/pink/etc. sand beach, and then create my final list.
Great point, @mathmom , lol! To take it even further, Rainbow Sand (found only on Rainbow Beach in Australia) can be those reach colleges which are also financial reaches, as it seems fickle, displaying more than 70 different colors whenever waves and winds shift and blow its sands around.
When D was applying to schools last year, a parent renamed safety schools to goodies schools - these were schools that were most likely to give goodies (merit aid), which was nice for families that don’t qualify for need based aid.
Don’t forget that some people look for other things. My husband and son went to Hot Water beach in Coromandel, New Zealand and loved it. They don’t remember the sand color (quite ordinary) but they loved that beach.
I’m liking the beach analogy more and more. Under certain circumstances, a crowded, litter-strewn beach might still be better than no beach at all (because yay! beach!), but it’s not the one you’d seek if you had other options.
@SlackerMomMD I had to look up Hot Water beach in New Zealand to see what the attraction to it was about because I wondered for a minute if they couldn’t remember the sand color for other reasons, such as the reason they might forget the sand color on Orient Beach, St. Martin. Bahahaha! :)) :)) :)) Because as you said, there are other things some look for in a beach!
(P.S. No offense intended, just gave me a chuckle and thought I would share.)
Some fun posts. I see no reason to change names- using others to indicate the same categories is not any better. I hate euphemisms, which is what is being attempted here. No matter what you call it there will always be the same concept of 3 categories. No matter which words you choose they will need to be explained.
That’s not the issue I have with the terms. The issue I have with the terms is that they’re inaccurate.
Safeties are not always guaranteed, Matches aren’t always a good match, and Reaches suggest you don’t necessarily belong there, when you might be a perfect Match for it.
My thread was to suggest that the onus be put more on the college than the kid. The current terminology seems to put all of the pressure on the kid.
"The current terminology seems to put all of the pressure on the kid. "- no matter what and how anything is called, “all of the pressure on the kid” ALWAYS, at HS, college and beyond and actually before HS. Just the unavoidable fact of life that kids who are in sports learn and incorporate into their lives much easier than many others. No college in a world can make it for them, as well as no other organization in a world before or after college can make it for them either.
:)) :)) :)) Because as you said, there are other things some look for in a beach! 