<p>I'm going to be a senior in high school and trying to finalize my college list before the school year starts. I am trying to look for a good safety school that I would like to attend, and Colgate seems like a great school I would like to go to. I have 3.94 unweighted GPA as an IB diploma student. I have SAT score of 2250 and I am going to take my subject tests in the fall (Math II and Spanish or US History). My academics weren't my top priority because I play violin and that has been a huge part of my life, thus I want to say I have a pretty solid extracurricular activities with the youth symphony, concertmaster of district orchestra, intern at a well-known music camp for few summers, avid chamber musician, solo and ensemble competitions, private teacher, and comm. service. And below is my college list (not finalized yet though).</p>
<p>Reach: Amherst, Yale, Penn, Brown
Match: Northwestern, Claremont McKenna, Emory, Vassar
Safety: University of Washington</p>
<p>And I would like to study Economics or Psychology.
Would it be safe to consider Colgate a safety school? Or is it more like a match school?</p>
<p>I was considering USC for a safety school for a long time, but I just don't know if USC is the school I want to attend if I were to be accepted, even though it's a great college.</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>P.S. I am an Asian international student if that plays a role in the admission process</p>
<p>Colgate cannot be considered a safety school for anyone these days, nor - definitely - could USC. The only real “safeties” in this day and age are those with specific GPA and test score admission guarantees.</p>
<p>Admissions departments at selective schools can afford to make acceptance decisions based on factors that your statistics will not address such as the “fit” they see in your essay’s portrayal of who you say you are, the likelihood you would attend if accepted, the contribution you would make as a member of the student body on your own terms as well as those of other candidates, financial aid considerations where no 2 candidates who seek aid are alike, and many other factors. </p>
<p>So as the other posters have said, there are no safeties as such, although you may choose to rank them in terms of desirability, a personal call on your side.</p>
<p>“My academics weren’t my top priority because I play violin…”</p>
<p>If continuing to be challenged by your musical activities is key to your happiness at your “safety school,” I’d be more diligent in assessing whether Colgate’s resources/capabilities would satisfy you. While the GPA/SAT composite of Colgate’s entering class may be more competitive than most state school’s, your safety school Washington may have substantially greater music resources from which you may benefit. That might be the more important variable in making it an appropriate safety school rather than Colgate. Your choice of schools, with the exception of Northwestern don’t seem to combine exceptional academics with exceptional music resources. There seems to be an inconsistency in your explanation and your choice of schools. It seems like you haven’t visited any of these schools. That is probably the best way to develop insight into whether your particular blend of accomplishments are perceived by an individual school to be a good match with how they build their incoming class. It gives you an opportunity to assess how you might fit into and grow within each environment. College admissions, you’ll find, is much more of an art than a science, for both the buyer and the seller.</p>
<p>I actually visited all the schools with the exception of northwestern and emory. they were just all the schools I ended up liking out of the colleges I visited, irregardless of the inconsistency. and in terms of music, I’m just looking for chamber music experiences and lessons at college, nothing more. </p>
<p>and this definitely helped! I wasn’t aware of how difficult colgate is, so I will search for a true safety school that I know for 100% I can get into</p>
<p>Your match schools should all be considered reaches. Northwestern - 15%, CMC- 12%, Emory- 26% (more of a match than others), Vassar - 22% And UW is only a safety if in-state.</p>
<p>Reach: Amherst, Yale, Penn, Brown
Match: Northwestern, Claremont McKenna, Emory, Vassar
Safety: University of Washington</p>
<p>Seattle94, here’s another observation about how your safety school decision meshes with your other choices. One could make an argument, that from the perspective of GPA/SAT’s, Colgate ( and Vassar ) would logically fit as the next rung down from your “Matches” and become logical safety schools among your other choices. Although sharing some characteristics with each of your other choices, I’d argue that the “atmosphere” of Colgate is significantly different than these other schools. Location, weather, depth and breadth in various curricular ( psych and eco, in your case ) and extra-curricular activities, and the “stereotype” of the student body being merely the tip of the iceberg. More importantly, all of this other “stuff” is highly subjective…it’s not tightly defined by how your GPA/SAT’s mesh with it. It’s how this other “stuff” makes you FEEL during arguably the most important four yeas of your life. Having your safety school merely reflect the next rung down in GPA/SAT’s has some merit on the face of it. But, it’s pretty limited in predicting whether you’re going to be “happy.”</p>
<p>Perhaps 20 or more years ago schools like Colgate would be considered a “Safety” to the ivies, Sanford, Duke, etc. Today, Colgate is listed in such groups as the New Ivy League, Little Ivy and so forth. While smaller than the very top research schools which includes the ivies, the quality of education is outstanding on the undergraduate level and give little away to the big names. Visit the schools, consider what they offer, consider the class size. I think you will find Colgate to be a top tier school in a beautiful location and a first class choice.</p>
<p>I think any of the selective LACs are not particularly good safety schools - many of these schools, including Colgate, fill a significant portion of the class early decision, and the numbers can be tough in the regular decision round.</p>
<p>I think you should look for a larger school that also offers opportunities for you to pursue your music interests.</p>
<p>@jrpar: That’s a really good point. Seattle94’s original post makes me realize how shabby and dangerous the reasoning is behind “safety schools” in this period of ultra-competitive college admissions. A “safety school” RD applicant who meets/exceeds the SAT/ACT/GPA may find themselves at a disadvantage in the late Admissions Dept. decision-maling process with LAC’s for a variety of reasons. Whether stated or not, the LAC is aware that keeping activities going at the school requires filling slots from candidates who demonstrate particular achievements in ec’s. The school culture requires at a minimum geographic and religious diversity. In the late stages of the RD process, might a plain vanilla student with good academics be subordinated to, for instance, an Editor of a Newspaper from a very reputable secondary school if the incoming class doesn’t have anyone fitting the bill, yet ?
The categories of unfilled slots are quite broad ( from activities to demographics to legacies, etc. ) and never formally discussed by Admissions. The “unfilled slots” have to be top of mind for the Admissions staff, during the latter stages of the admissions process.You’re throwing your hat in the ring for “safety” at absolutely the most inopportune time. That’s why a larger school ( incoming class in the thousands ), in the R.D. “safety school” game is a better shot than a LAC ( incoming class in the hundreds ) ?</p>