<p>I have come up with a list of ten or so colleges, but it is hard to distinguish between reaches, matches, and safeties. Obviously, Stanford is a Super-reach and IU is a safety, but how can I know for everything in between?</p>
<p>you research.....</p>
<p>In general, look to the statistics for that school: if your GPA and SAT/ACT scores are in the middle range of accepted students, that is a match. A safety school would be where your GPA is a couple of tenths higher and SAT 50-100 higher, a reach school would be one you really want, but your GPA and SAT are lower than the average of those accepted. It is not critical that your schools fall into 3 neat categories; it is critical to include at least one safety school that you would feel OK attending, just in case...</p>
<p>ok..if your stats are above the school's average..you are a match. (assuming you have good ec's and essay)...if couple are a lil lower..dats a reach..saftey is when your stats are way over and your ec's rock as well as your essay. i duno..dats what i did and my counselor said</p>
<p>Ivies and other schools (probably all of them in the top 15) can be considered reaches for everyone regardless of your GPA and SAT scores</p>
<p>^ Yea DURRRRRRRRRR. jk. yea..ivy's are a little weird with their admission process thing.</p>
<p>What is important to keep in mind, as you will note if you look over this board, is that the number of students in the applicant pool has made even these "rules of thumb" questionable. You may indeed be in the top half of a pool but so are 5 other kids for each spot so to a degree the reach, match, safety terminology is not very helpful in terms of how the language sets up an expectation of a safety being "low end" when in fact you may choose it over your so-called reach. So think in these terms loosely. I agree that if you research web sites you can get an idea of the accepted student profiles specifically the average SATs and GPAs. Find "sure bet" schools where you would be happy attending .</p>
<p>Also, if you have a hook, are a URM, are applying ED, or from an area that will provide geographic diversity at the college--that will boost your chances. Over time you'll come up with a dozen schools that fall along the range.</p>
<p>I don't know if what sierradoc said is true. For example, I got a 33 ACT and have a 3.94 UW GPA with what will be over 10 APs by the time I graduate. I've also got a lot of EC's with swimming, community service, NHS, etc. The middle 50% at Stanford for ACT is a 28-33, at Notre Dame 30-33, Duke 29-33, and Yale 29-33. Yet these schools are definitely not matches, and are more like super-reaches that I probably have no chance of getting into. How can I find out what is really a match, reach, and safety?</p>
<p>Help us narrow down possibilites. Do you prefer rural, urban, suburban? Large or small? What parts of the country? Jock/frat environment or not?</p>
<p>I prefer either urban or suburban, and medium-sized (Not a huge State-U but not a tiny LAC) I love sports, but I want to avoid "party schools." Geographical location is not important, but I need a school strong in sciences/premed. Can you name some reaches, matches, and safeties?</p>
<p>Are financial aid or merit scholarships a consideration? can you tell us a few you like so far so we can get an idea of what interests you?i</p>
<p>Money is not a huge concern at this point, but merit aid at matches and safeties would be nice. My "dream schools" are Stanford, Rice, and Notre Dame.</p>
<p>Boston College? Vanderbuilt? BU? NE? Emory? Tufts? UVA? GW? Lehigh? William & Mary?</p>
<p>Do you consider those to be reaches or matches for me?</p>
<p>Matches but along a continuum. See if your scores are in the middle range at any of them...check BC since you like ND.</p>
<p>I think it's mostly a matter of where YOU think you can get into. There's no exact science. It's mainly to help you categorize school choices.</p>
<p>0-25% chance - Reach
35-85% chance - match
95-100% chance - saftety</p>
<p>No one has yet mentioned a critical element: besides looking at where your stats fall, you also need to consider the admissions rate of the school. </p>
<p>A school where your stats fall in the middle 50% that accepts 30% or less of applicants is not a match, it is a reach. In fact, even if your stats fall in the upper end of the school's stats, if it accepts less than 30% of applicants, it should be considered a reach, unless you are absolutely sure you have some sort of unique thing to offer the school.</p>
<p>Looking at Notre Dame, for instance, you may fall in their middle 50% but their acceptance rate is 34%. I'd call that a reach. It would be a match only if you have something very strong to pull you over the top. Since I haven't seen your transcript and application, I don't know if you do so can only call it a reach.</p>
<p>Calling a school a reach, doesn't mean you should not apply, but it does mean that you should force yourself to fall in love with some realistic matches that you've added into the mix. I get worried when I see people calling schools like Harvard, Stanford, and MIT "matches" even if they have perfect stats.</p>
<p>To me, realistic match schools for top students start when a school gets above 30% in terms of selectivity. Matches for people who fall in the mid-range start when you near 50% acceptance. And, matches for those who fall in the 25-50% range usually start when you get over 50% acceptance. </p>
<p>Realistic "good bet" or safety schools start when you're in the top range of a school's stats and their acceptance rate is close to 50%. If you're in the mid-range of stats, it's a safety if the acceptance rate is over 50%. If you're in the bottom of the stats range, it's not a safety unless the acceptance rate is above 65%.</p>
<p>Of course, I'm sure that I will be flamed for even suggesting that people with top stats even LOOK at schools with 40 or 50 percent acceptance rates, but there are plenty of excellent choices in that range that could make great matches and safeties for top students.</p>
<p>These aren't hard and fast rules, but it's a little bit more reliable than just going by where your stats fall. There are some other things I usually look at before I classify schools as safe, match, or reach for individual students, but it gets a bit more complicated so if you only want a quick and dirty system, this is it. If you'd like to discuss how I see your chances privately, PM me.</p>
<p>If you plan on swimming in college, definitely fill out recruiting forms on the athletics section of a schools' website and talk to the coaches. They can help you get in and get money.</p>
<p>I'd like to swim in college, but I'm only good enough for Division III, so there's no money. I'd be a walk-on. Does anyone else have any advice on how to realistically get an idea of my chances in advance? The admissions process seems so random. When I see the stats of other people on this board and see who got accepted/rejected it is hard to find a pattern. People with identical stats seem to get opposite outcomes at selective schools.</p>
<p>a safety is a school you should be GUARANTEED to get in. A typical example is a state school that accepts anyone over a certain gpa and sat, and you're over the limit. Another one could be a private that accepts many students, and virtually all with your qualifications.</p>
<p>IMHO your safety is your most important choice. People spend hours and hours agonizing over top schools that they have a 1-in-20 shot of getting into, devote a lot of energy to picking some matches, and the safety is the afterthought "just in case". </p>
<p>Yet "just in case" can be pretty common! Look at it as a simple matter of statistics. Suppose your odds of getting into each of your match schools is 2 out of 3, and you apply to 3 of them. For every 100 students that do this, how many get into none? The answer is 4!! Adding 1 more school helps; out of every 100 students applying to 4 of these matches only 1 doesn't get in.</p>
<p>Still 1 out of 100 (or 4 out of 100) leaves thousands and thousands of disappointed students each year. Just browse thru the past month's postings and you'll see the stories of kids in this predicament.</p>
<p>My advice is not to put down some random school as your safety, but to spend at least as much time finding it, visiting, etc. as you do with your reaches. And to be honest when students do this in-depth research some actually find that their safety is also their top choice! If you look carefully and have a list of what you're looking for, a systematic search may uncover a school that's a perfect fit for you even if it isn't one of the reaches on everyone's tongue.</p>