Does Everyone Have a Safety?

Prep School Admissions
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<p>Below is a thread started by Roger_Dooley. There are many parallels between boarding school applications and college applications. Of course, for many applicants, their current school is the safety. But for those of you who really want the boarding life, please consider adding a safety. Here is what he had to say:</p>

<p>"Does Everyone Have a True Safety? </p>

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<p>App deadlines are looming, and I thought it would be a good idea to remind everyone that they need at least one true safety in their college list. I know this seems obvious to most CC members, but every year we get posts titled, "Help! Rejected everywhere!"</p>

<p>In most cases, students were given well-intentioned but incorrect advice by teachers, GCs, etc. "You are a great student, you'll get in everywhere!" is a typical comment from those not familiar with selective school admissions in today's environment. If they applied to a safety school at all, it turned out to be more selective than they thought.</p>

<p>If you applied to a rolling admissions safety (highly recommended!), then you may well have been admitted already. Congratulations!</p>

<p>If you aren't lucky enough to have your safety in the bag already, be sure that you are really a lock at your chosen safety school. Note that at the more selective colleges, even with students with stats well above the school's average may not get in. And some schools may even reject or waitlist super-qualified applicants if they think their school is a backup choice. (There's a conundrum for you - you've got to have a safety, but you don't want the school to THINK they are a safety!) Any school that is reasonably selective and/or has somewhat unpredictable admissions should NOT be your only safety.</p>

<p>Last piece of safety advice: be sure that you WANT to attend your safety. If you aren't sold on your safety as a place that you'd be happy to attend, you need to spend more time studying your safety choices. Too many students think of their safety as an afterthought; that's a mistake. If you ultimately have difficulty in choosing between your safety school and your top choices, you picked an ideal safety.</p>

<h2>Let's hope 2007 is the year we don't see any "rejected everywhere!" threads!"</h2>

<p>I started following this board in February last year. There were a number of applicants who seemed to be very qualified who just disappeared after the March 10th admissions date. There were also many who got into their top school, or several of their top choices. I hope all of you reading this fall into this group. However, a safety net is always a good idea.</p>

<p>Here is a link to the thread: <a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=275966%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=275966&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

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<p>ahh, >.< i find that i have a hard time time finding safeties (im looking for chinese, fencing, and filmmaking) but i have one. ^_^ just one, cambridge school of weston. its a progressive school, and coming from a democratic school, im pretty sure ill get in. </p>

<p>that;s a very good pt. tho, burbparent.</p>

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<p>It would be important to have a safety if you were dead set on going to boarding school, but as I am not, I don't really have one.</p>

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<p>I'm dead set on going to an independent school; not necessarily boarding. I'm am applying to one local day school and I am visiting a boarding and day school where my dad lives while I go up there over Christmas Vacation. If I like it I will probably apply. I'm still pushing my parents to let me applying to St. Paul's, though. :)</p>

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<p>I knew you still wanted to apply to St. Paul's, Jonathan. You liked it far too much to be over the idea to attending next year. :)
I really should have more match and safety schools, but I cannot add any more schools to the list. However, I won't die if I don't go to boarding school. I think I have all right chance at St. Mark's and Concord, though.</p>

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<p>My daughter did not have a safety and was fine staying where she was if she didn't get into one of the 4 schools she loved. I think she was typical.</p>

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<p>I think that many kids do not take the admissions process as serious as those on CC. It also depends on the kid. I used Taft and Middlesex as safeties, but for some kids they are matches or even reaches. I think as long as you apply to variety of schools you have a good chance.</p>

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<p>Really? Taft and Middlesex as safeties? That's impressive. Did you get into both?</p>

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<p>No, Igot waitlisted, but it was one of those "if this is your first choice let us know" letters. I'm guessing with those if I had said they were my first choice I would have gotten in, but they knew that I was applying to Andover, Exeter, Deerfield, etc. Admissions really comes down to a numbers game of how many kids they think will accept their offer of admissions.</p>

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<p>i used taft as safety and that old fool vandell (or wutever his last name is) gave me those "if this is your first choice tell us after the deposit deadline" call and letter...i ended up choosing hotchkiss...oh concord and middlesex were my other safeties.. both accepted..
i think it's just that old wicked guy at taft who plays the number game and give you that tell us if u really want to come wink wink letter games</p>

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<p>bearcat. I think many schools consider the likelihood of who will accept their offers in offering admissions; in order to get the right "yield", they need to!</p>

<p>I do know that Hotchkiss has done this in the past.</p>