<p>I'm sure this is been discussed ad infinitum on CC, but it's still new to me. How can you judge what is a reach, match or safety for a given student? Is it primarily based on the published SAT/ACT range for the school, i.e. if you're above the 25-75% range, it's a safety, if you're in the high to middle part of that range, it's a match, and if you're in the bottom part of the range, it's a reach? Or am I way off on this?</p>
<p>It's up to the individual. For some, a safety would be a state school where they're GUARANTEED admission. For others, a safety would be somewhere where they have a 50-50 chance of getting in (then they apply to several of these). It just depends on your stats and what you're looking for.</p>
<p>I have stats that are above the 75th percentile for Harvard. Is it a safety for me? Obviously not. You have to consider selectivity as well. It's a place that is likely to take you (possibly with money). If the admissions rate is under thirty percent, it's probably not a safety for many, if any, people. The SAT range is a good indicator, but you have to consider other factors as well.</p>
<p>I end up dividing things up into a categorical system that goes: high reach, reach, semi-reach, good fit, likely, safety. Of course, everyone rates things differently, so this is my personal take.</p>
<p>A high reach is a school where the individual in question isn't even close to the 25% quartile for SATs, has a GPA below 80% of the school's students, and doesn't have any sort of "hook" that makes up for this. It's usually something I reserve for those interested in applying to highly selective schools like HYPSM with SATs below 2100, a GPA below 3.6, and few meaningful extracurriculars. </p>
<p>A reach can take two forms, as I see it. One type of reach is that in which the school is so selective that even if you had stellar stats and ECs, you still couldn't be guaranteed admission. Basically, it's the Ivy League, top tech schools, and top few LACs where getting in is a crap shoot. The second type of reach is the type where the applicant has a chance, but not a great one. Basically, their SATs and GPA are below the 50% mark and they don't have any sort of standout EC to make up for this.</p>
<p>A semi-reach is a school where the applicant is competitive in that they look more-or-less like the average type of student that is admitted to the school. Their SAT scores and GPA are mid-range; however, they don't have anything that particularly stands out about them (EC- or hook-wise).</p>
<p>A good fit is a school where the applicant is between the 50-75% percent quartiles from a GPA and SAT standpoint. They look like they should get in but can't be guaranteed admission for reasons such as the selectivity of the school, the lack of a standout EC, and so on. </p>
<p>A likely is a school where the applicant should get in. They have SAT scores and a GPA around the 75% quartile mark (or high) and ECs that push them over the edge. What separates this from a safety is usually the selectivity of the likely school... if a school accepts under 50% of it's applicants, it's hard for it to be "guaranteed" that someone will get in.</p>
<p>A safety is a school where it's virtually impossible to imagine that the applicant won't get in. This could be because it's a state school or because the applicant has stats and ECs that are well-beyond what the normal student attending the school has. Basically, it's when the average GPA is a 3.5, the SAT 25-75% quartile range is 580-670, the percent admittance rate is over 40%, and the applicant has stats of a 3.9 and 720/750/730 with a nice mix of ECs.</p>
<p>It's important to note the difference between what may be a reach/match/safety for you (based on your stats and such) and what should be. So even if your stats and the like are way above a school's average, that does not mean that you should file that school into the match/safety section. These schools include U Chicago, Northwestern, Rice, JHU, Berkeley, Notre Dame, etc. Sure, these schools are insanely selective like HYPSM, but they are selective enough that you should not consider them safeties ever, and probably not matches, either.</p>
<p>i would like to add that safeties should also be considered not only from an academic standpoint but from a financial standpoint as well. You should have at least one school in there where the applicant can get in and at the same time, you and your student should have no difficulty paying for. Many applicants include the state flagship university as one of their safeties.</p>
<p>I wouldn't count a school as a safety unless your GPA and SAT/ACT are both above the 75th percentile for the school, and the school has an acceptance rate somewhere substantially above 50%. And think about it this way: if it's truly a safety, then you should need just one. If there's any substantial uncertainty, either because the school's admit rate is low or because your stats aren't absolutely stellar in comparison to the people they usually admit, then it's not a safety. It may be a "backup" to your preferred school(s), it may even be a "likely" to use littleatheist's term ^^, but it's not a "safety." And given the competitive nature of college admissions, I think everyone should have at least one true safety.</p>
<p>Thanks, all -- this is really helpful!</p>
<p>A very important feature of a safety is that it HAS to be a school you are willing to attend! If you are only applying because you are certain you will be accepted - but you wouldn't be caught dead on campus - then it isn't a safety, it is just a waste of an application fee.</p>
<p>^ This is important.</p>
<p>However, I would be hesitant to say that you have to love your safety, or any school for that matter. There are some matches/stretches that I want to attend, but am not gaga about (like some people -- I MUST get into H/P/Y/S). Consider the priority list. If your safety is your top choice, that's great. You might not even need to apply to other schools. On the other hand, it's not imperative that you LOVE every school on your list.</p>
<p>^ There are also different ways to play this. If a top public with a rolling admissions policy---say a Michigan or Wisconsin-Madison--is a "match" for you, you have the option of getting your application in early and getting a non-binding decision back from them before the application deadline for other schools. Once you're accepted at Michigan or Wisconsin, that can become your "safety"; you don't need to reach down further to find another safety with less selective admission standards, because you know worst case you'll be able to attend Michigan or Wisconsin. If they reject you or waitlist you, you still have time to get in an application at a less selective safety. Under its early response option, Michigan guarantees an answer by Dec. 24 if you apply by Nov. 1.</p>
<p>In addition to what others have said regarding safeties, you also want to look at the students that school takes from your (kid's) high school. Some more competitive state schools have good relationships with certain high schools and less friendly ones with others. For example, Chapel Hill takes a good chunk of kids from my high school, but they have to show interest and extracurricular involvement. Since my high school is public, a good number of kids matriculate at Chapel Hill for tuition. At a nearby private, Chapel Hill is more wary of accepting these kids because they may be turned down to attend a private college. It all depends on context--the top X number of kids in my school can consider CH a safety, while the private school kids cannot.</p>
<p>bumping this just because I like the topic and think it answers some important questions that many have.</p>
<p>A safety school not only is a school that a student is nearly 100% assured of getting accepted, but it’s also a FINANCIAL safety because it is known to be affordable because of assured aid (such as Pell), assured scholarships, or can be paid out of pocket and/or with minimal loans.</p>
<p>(note the word “assured,” not “assumed.”)</p>
<p>For many, their financial safety is their local, regional public university or CC that they could commute to if needed. Tuition, fees, and books are low enough that they can be covered by any of the above mentioned means.</p>
<p>Two-year bump. 
This is helpful.</p>