<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>
<p>Let's hope 2007 is the year we don't see any "rejected everywhere!" threads!</p>
<p>My safety was Univ of Massachusetts - Amherst. I will be very happy to attend that school. I just got accepted to their Commonwealth Honors College with a scholarship!</p>
<p>There are rare situations where there are students who are not quite good enough to get accepted into their reaches, their matches say that they'll get in somewhere better, so they don't accept them, and the safeties who believe that the applicant is using them as a last-ditch resort...which leads to an "i didn't get in anywhere" thread</p>
<p>Through National Merit, recommendations from a mentor at the National Weather Service, and a random flight on a plane where I met someone in the Meteorology department there, I was guaranteed a spot and full tuition, but ultimately turned it down to go to Cornell. That wasn't an easy decision, but after debating it pretty heavily and getting lots of input, I felt it was the most appropriate thing to do.</p>
<p>Please also be sure that your family & you can AFFORD to attend the "safety" school, if <gasp> you're not offered enough or ANY aid--merit of need-based. It is getting tougher & tougher for many to get much aid, so apply to at least one+ school you would like, are VERY LIKELY to be admitted to & can afford if no aid is offered--for all 4 years. Remember, aid may lessen after the 1st year & you need to be able to pay for all 4+ years you're at the U, plus any grad/pro school. Some folks have to transfer from dream school after it gets too expensive or they cease to meet the conditions of aid.
Have heard of several very sad stories where student was admitted into wonderful schools but family couldn't afford them & <surprise> didn't get enough aid tho everyone assured them that aid would be forthcoming. Have heard of other sad stories where students have had to transfer from expensive schools to less expensive ones where they ultimately obtained their degrees because the budget didn't account for expenses & tuition of 4+ years. In hindsight, many think it would have been better to go to inexpensive school 1st & then transfer to elite school for last 2 years & degree.
Good luck!</surprise></gasp></p>
<p>University of Pittsburgh
Pennsylvania State University - University Park
Muhlenberg College</p>
<p>I have two other safeties, American and GW, but, those aren't "100%" grabs. More like 95%. Also, Pittsburgh is up there on my list because I got into the honors program and a 2k a year renewable scholarship (the entrance into which was not a safety for me).</p>
<p>My safeties are the University of Maryland - College Park, and VaTech. A few people from my school with worse grades/scores already got in to VaTech ED so I'm feeling fairly confident.</p>
<p>How does one quantify the benefit of going to one's "dream" school at full boat when one has a safety that provides a full free ride.</p>
<p>This must be a question tha many ccers have since so many are high achievers.</p>
<p>So how does one decide to forgoe a full free ride at a school that the student likes but is admittedly a safety. How do you quantify the benefit of having that "pedigree" or prestige name on your diploma in 4 years as opposed to being an honors grad for free from a more modest but repsected university?</p>
<p>I would really like to hear some feedback on this.</p>
<p>It is really hard to imagine walking away from a $150000 gift and pay full freight at a top school but it myst happen a lot.</p>
<p>He has 8+ safeties. Amoung those schools are UWisconsin, Knox, Butler, and Earlham. 3 from his list are financial aid safeties, while the others have a similar feel to colleges higher on his list. The amazing thing is, he really likes his safeties and would attend any of them. The pressure is off for him. And, he's just waiting on his ED and other RD schools.</p>
<p>At first, he was pretty status conscious, but since he's got some acceptances under his belt, he's realized that the USNews ranking is flawed, especially for LACs and other small schools. And, he's more concerned with fit than prestige. In fact, some of the higher ranking colleges at the top of his initial school list have fallen below some of his safeties. On second though, I guess he's pretty lucky that he did his research and had so many safeties on his list.</p>
<p>BTW--on a personal level, I gave up my dream school for another because of financial aid consideration--and I'm happy with the decision, more so than I was during the admissions cycle.</p>
<p>In the state of California, if you attend a public high school and are in the top 4% of your graduating class, then you are identified as eligible for a spot in the UC system. The UC may not be your first choice, but you will be able to attend a UC---a great program to say the least---and when you compare the Cal Berkeley degree with an IVY, its like a "half price" sale in cost with the same prestige...I wish everyone the best!</p>
<p>I'd say Berkeley has a pretty strong reputation all over the country.</p>
<p>California is rivaled by none other in terms of its state system of education. I know we have it pretty good in Pennsylvania, but, next to you guys, we can't compare.</p>