<p>Do not assume you have the test scores/GPA for places like UIUC, GTech, or Michigan or that they have a 50% acceptance rate. Those are blended rates for in-state/OOS applicants and if you are an OOS applicant, the standards are much higher and the acceptance rate much lower. A comparable school is UNC-Chapel Hill, OOS to our HS, and we get very, very few applicants in there, despite many trying. I’d have to do the exact numbers to be sure, but a quick glance at Naviance indicates that we actually have better luck getting kids in at Ivies than we do at UNC-CH. We do get students in the other 3 on a regular basis, at a rate higher than the Ivies, but they are still a tough place to get in to, but UIUC is easier for us, since we’re in an adjacent state.</p>
<p>If you have a reasonable shot at Ivies, you should have a reasonable chance at those top publics, but they are not safeties by any means. And they are unlikely to offer anywhere near the financial aid that the Ivies do, unless you are in-state for any of them.</p>