<p>I want to apply to the two Arizonas as my safeties but my mom doesn’t approve.
What are some other alternatives they may not be as “party-school-ish?”</p>
<p>^ Utah is a decent school and definitely is not known for wild parties (for a state school).</p>
<p>Mom says there’s too many Mormons.
(I know… don’t ask. But she did.)</p>
<p>Yeah, I plan to apply to the Arizonas also.</p>
<p>You should look at University of Colorado- Boulder, hmmm University of Delaware ( I’ll look more into that one)?</p>
<p>Update:</p>
<p>University of Delaware… never mind, eventhough about 75% are OOS, acceptance rate is 56%.</p>
<p>56% isn’t bad. Not good enough for a safety, but not bad at all.
Except for the fact that it’s in… Delaware =/</p>
<p>It’s in Delaware, but within the mix of all the urban sparwl ( just the light end of it), though I’ll continue to look for other decent universities.</p>
<p>
Religious student bodies tend to frown on drunken parties. And most of the hard-core Mormons go to BYU, making Utah the “liberal” college of the state.</p>
<p>I used to live in Colorado, and CU-Boulder has a reputation for being a huge party school. My cousin attended and confirms the rep.</p>
<p>What about the University of Cincinnati, Washington State University, and the University of New Mexico for safeties?</p>
<p>University of Iowa
University of Missouri-Columbia</p>
<p>(besides the ones I’ve already listed)</p>
<p>yeah you need to have some reaches, some matches, and some safeties</p>
<p>haven’t read the entire thread. just commenting on the opening post.</p>
<p>once anyone, be it a parent, guidance councilor, or anyone else, starts to say ‘you don’t need any safeties’ you know they’ve gone off the deep end and totally lost touch with reality. can’t rely on those people for college advice anymore.</p>
<p>I haven’t had time to read every post, either, but are you intent on staying close to home or does it matter? It sounds to me like your mom is very involved in your life. Do you want to get away? Or do you want to stay near your family? That’s something to seriously consider when applying to colleges. My oldest daughter applied to a few schools on the east coast, but we found out later that she never really wanted to leave the west coast - so it was a waste of time and money to even apply to Wake Forest, etc.</p>
<p>What is my father’s answer to any school I ask about?
“Harvard.”
… and he’s dead serious too.
Not even “Columbia” makes him budge.</p>
<p>Label brainwashed, much. Or star struck. <em>sigh</em></p>
<p>This was why I was late to school this morning. He was aghast-- no, furious – to see Harvard barely on my “Prospective Colleges” list attached to my resumes for teacher recommendations, which I handed out today.</p>
<p>“What IS THIS!”
^ while looking at choices such as University of Chicago, Columbia, Carnegie Mellon, and Stanford as my impossible dream school.
“These are excellent schools, Dad.”
Where he proceeded to shout the lecture me about the need for a prestigious school to get a post-grad job, etc. etc. Which just got me angry at his insult toward my beloved U of Chicago.</p>
<p>But it’s okay. I’ll fund my own safeties if I have to. And I also live 5 minutes away from University of Maryland. :)</p>
<p>violinmom, it doesn’t matter to me.
I’m applying to like 3-4 California schools and everything else (besides the two arizonas) is basically east coast.</p>
<p>You can always apply in secret and deal with the screaming parents later.</p>
<p>As someone mentioned already, when you land with a pile of rejects, you can say “I told you so” then unveil a fabulous Safety that accepted you! </p>
<p>Personally, I applied to a bunch of Ivies (rejected), had UCs as back ups (accepted), as NYU as back up to that (rejected), and had another two Canadian schools as backups (accepted). </p>
<p>When I applied for transfer, I knew my parents would not be supportive, so I hid it from them and everyone I knew for about 8 months. It’s such a good feeling being able to stop an argument by saying “Whatever. I’m going to Cornell next year”.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>Get some match schools and a safety. Explain to your mom that if you get into the matches and safeties you will work hard and have the credentials to transfer to another, more elite school later ( if that’s what you want to do when the time comes). Case Western? University of Rochester? Look around and you will find some appealing choices that are excellent and competitive schools but a little easier to get into.</p>
<p>Hopefully, you’ll get lucky and get into one of those top schools. I knew one kid however who was rejected from every school she applied to-- and she was valedictorian of her school with commendable ECs (btws he was a USABOer.) But thank goodness she applied to at least one safety school, and had to go there. You should tell her about these stories— or at least apply to some match schools. There are many name-brand colleges out there that you can probably get in to easily… examples are umich, penn state, lehigh, CMU, etc. So you can add those to ur list if she really insist that you go to some top college.</p>
<p>^^^^^^Who are you referring to smarts1? Michigan is not a “name-brand college that you can probably get into easily.” Well I suppose if you have a 4.0 UW gpa and 35 ACT it would be easy.</p>
<p>I didn’t read everything here, but I’d like to say one thing.</p>
<p>Anyone who says schools like Northwestern, Berkely, UCLA, U Penn, Michigan or Wash U can be considered a safety for ANYBODY, is completely out of touch.</p>
<p>Don’t drink the Kool-Aid. These schools are not safeties for anyone.</p>
<p>To the OP:
WHAT you do at college is way more important than WHERE you do it. As so many have said, find a program and place where you will be comfortable and relaxed enough to put forth your best effort.</p>
<p>I find many parents like living their dreams, fantansies, goals, etc…through their kids.</p>
<p>Daddy always wanted to go to Yale, so he will make Jonny go. Mommy always wanted to be a lawyer, she will push for Sally to be one.</p>
<p>Being a URM will help you but won’t be enough, by itself, to get you in wherever you want. I am friends with a black girl whose older sister wanted desperately to go to Harvard. She was a NM commended student who read all the time in high school. She applied to Harvard but was rejected. She is now a very happy and successful student at a prestigious midwest university.<br>
Like your mom, she, her family, and my mom all thought that this girl would get in. After all, she’s a commended student, black female, who reads like other people talk/text on cell phones. Clearly she is not stupid.</p>
<p>Bottom line? Hope for the best; plan for the worst. Be happy with the acceptances, no matter where they are from. Get over the rejections and move forward.</p>
<p>GOOD LUCK!!!</p>