<p>As most students still anxiously wait for admissions decisions, the idea of having to go to a "safety" school may seem like the worst thing in the world. </p>
<p>To put such fears into perspective, it would be great to hear from current college students who ended up at one of their so-called safety schools. Have you been disappointed? Are you happily surprised?</p>
<p>I am still awaiting for my letters, but I would still be totally happy going to my safety, a small LAC. Its all about finding a safety you would be happy with even if it is less selective or prestigous.</p>
<p>Great thread in the current climate........</p>
<p>See, I don't think "safety" schools should just be seen as your last resort. You shouldn't just apply for a school as a safety because it's easy to get into, you should be able to see yourself going to school there and liking it too, just like you would any other school. </p>
<p>My university is not a "top-tier" school, or whatever the fancy term for it is, it's a state school in Alabama an hour away from my house. And I love it.</p>
<p>S ended up at his (financial) safety school. He gained acceptance to all of the colleges he applied to, including his first choice. However, they were not forthcoming with financial aid and given that he knew he wanted grad or prof school, and that he has a younger sibling, we thought we could not afford it. We were all SOOO disappointed and he started college without enthusiasm.</p>
<p>However, that soon changed and everything has worked out really well. He met nice friends, he has a 4.0 in engineering, he is in the city he wanted to live in, he has good jobs and internships...things really couldn't be better. In fact, he might even be happier at his state school than he would have been at the private choice. As a bonus, he will graduate debt-free and has no restrictions on his graduate plans. :)</p>
<p>lkf725 - I am so pleased that worked out for your S. Sounds like a great situation to be in with graduate school in his horizon.</p>
<p>I didn't end up at my first choice school, that's for sure, but I was pretty much expecting it. Even if I had gotten in, there was really no way we could've afforded it. So I ended up at my third choice school and it's been really good. Not perfect, but nevertheless, I love the town and campus, I've been kicking butt in all of my classes, and I've generally just been doing pretty well. I still occasionaly think about what it would've been like if I had ended up at one of my first choices, but I'm pretty content with how things have worked out. Good luck to everyone waiting for decisions!</p>
<p>As a high school counselor for many years, I can say that nearly all students who go to their safety school stay to graduate and are extremely happy - provided that they viewed that college as a good fit for them academically, socially, etc. A safety school should still be a school that you really liked when you visited colleges during the search process. Oftentimes, the safety option(s) on your list may, in fact, be a better fit for you that a school that appeals only because it is more selective or prestigious. You may end up being a big fish in a smaller pond, which has its benefits - professors who want to have you do research with them, merit scholarship money, being able to play on an intercollegiate team, etc. Research your schools well and you will end up happy and fulfilled, even if the school is your "safety". Best wishes.</p>
<p>I ended up at my fifth choice school, an academic and somewhat financial safety (scholarship). Mind you, I did get into my first choice college, but decided that between the poor FA package ($12k in unmet need, IIRC) and my somewhat blah impression of the school on my campus visit & overnight, I'd be happier somewhere else. My final decision was actually between my fourth & fifth choices, both of whom gave me significant scholarships.</p>
<p>I love it here; it's definitely a good fit for me. (I can provide more detail if anyone's curious.)</p>
<p>The mistake is to apply to/attend a school that you can't see yourself at under any circumstances. Don't be blinded by prestige, especially since the UG institution really isn't all that important if grad/professional schools are on the menu.</p>
<p>I ended up going to my last-choice college, and at first I was pretty disappointed. I went in planning to transfer, but I didn't.</p>
<p>Two years later, I'm as happy as can be and I love it here.</p>
<p>I'm going to add a slightly different perspective. I promise that there's some silver-lining at the end...</p>
<p>My little sister had sort of a weird application profile. Come spring of senior year, she had zero acceptances and had decided that she wasn't interested in waitlists (how she wound up in that situation is a story unto itself, but that's more or less irrelevant). After a panicked search for schools accepting late applications, she wound up at a private two-year college...something of a super-safety. She didn't want to apply to this school in the first place, she was turned off by the campus, she didn't like the idea of a 2 year school, and really, she was just burned out...totally against any school but the ones that had already rejected her. </p>
<p>After one semester in school, she's still not convinced that she's in the perfect place, but...</p>
<p>She's in the school's honors program, she's on a merit scholarship, and she's really excelling in her classes (which have actually been surprisingly challenging). After years of feeling sub-par at her competitive high school, she's finally regaining confidence in areas outside of her major. She's thinking about working as a tutor, she qualified for (and will be attending) a regional competition in a field she'd never been able to properly explore, she's getting time to pursue EC interests that she'd had to give up during high school, she's having professors volunteer to write recs for her. She lives off-campus, but is head-over-heels for her apartment. She's been able to do more research into 4-year schools (free from the frenzy of senior year) and has realized that her former #1 choice was probably not the best place for her to do undergrad, and might even have been a poor choice (apparently it's now her #1 grad school choice...go figure). She's now setting herself up to transfer and has received great feedback from multiple 4-year schools.</p>
<p>I don't think my sister would say that she's ecstatic about her situation, but I'm absolutely positive that she's happier than she thought she would be, and that she knows her school has given her some great opportunities. The important thing to note is that she didn't end up at a typical safety school...it wasn't a financial safety that she knew she'd be happy at or anything like that. She wound up at a school that she never wanted to apply to in the first place, let alone attend. Once she knew where she was going, though, she didn't waste time whining...she immediately started figuring out how to make the best of her situation, and she really has. "Attitude is everything" and all that.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, many students do pick safety schools that they can't imagine themselves attending. Now, obviously this should be avoided, but even for these students, the world doesn't have to end...there may be a lot of good to be found even in an undesirable situation.</p>
<p>My original "safety" school was my state school, which I had never visited--I knew it would be a safety so I figured why bother. After getting accepted to all but one of my other choices, my parents dragged me out to visit the state school. I fell in love. The campus was gorgeous, the people were friendly, the business school had a lot going for it. So I decided that although I had gotten into higher-ranked schools, this state school was where I wanted to spend the next four years. Now that those four years are drawing to a close, I could not be happier with the choice I made. I have a good GPA (3.6--nothing spectacular for this crowd, but I'm pleased!), a wonderful social life, and have gotten involved with so many things.</p>
<p>IMHO, whoever says "but how could you have passed up a #5 for a #50?!" doesn't really understand what college (and life after!) is all about.</p>
<p>My D1 was very frustrating to me in her college app process- she would not take our input about getting small school options and mainly applied to very prestigious schools, her matches were pricey (NYU/USC) privates and her one financial safety was the one UC we "made" her choose.</p>
<p>She ended up with options of NYU/USC and one "mid-range" UC and attended the UC due to financial reasons. She was never happy there, but I think that was due to the fact that she did not choose her safety well. My other kids have all followed our guidance and ended up with safety options which would work for them, they actually gave consideration to the possiblity of needing to attend the safety, though they did not end up there, as they also listened about coming up with a good FINANCIAL and ADMISSIONS match list.</p>
<p>My D is an example of what happens when you don't believe things won't work out your way (magical thinking) and now that she is in grad school she would say the same thing.</p>
<p>D did not consider the area and learned that she did not like the type of people who lived in that area, as compared to the region of the country where she lives now. She did not like the hugely non-demographically representative complexion of her major (less than 10% non Asian kids got their science degrees with her and many of the Asian kids were ESL, so it was tough to connect and make friends within the major). That being said, she double majored and the one prof who turned her on to her 2nd major was her prime connection for getting into grad school and specializes in the field she is now in. So, even actively disliking the location of her school (SoCal) and all, she still made the key connection with a prof who steered her into her current pursuits about which she is passionate and she is really enjoying her current school.</p>
<p>One thing she has learned, she chose a school for grad studies based on specialty (her small sub-field specialty) and location (closer to family) and is extremely happy with the quality of teaching there, even in the UG classes she took there some summers. She would never have applied at this school for UG, not prestigious enough when her friends were all seeking Ivy.</p>
<p>So, she would tell you to forget the Ivy mania and look for the.......wait for it........RIGHT FIT</p>
<p>I ended up at my safety, University of Arizona, and it's awesome. This past weekend was most likely the best weekend of my entire life. I can't imagine being anywhere else.</p>
<p>I also ended up at my safety school, I was accepted at almost every school I applied to (waitlisted at one), but wasn't offered enough money to go to any of the smaller private schools I really wanted to go to. I actually didn't even apply to the most highly regarded public school in my state, I applied to the smaller state school that both my parents attended. After not only being accepted there but getting a fairly good merit scholarship and being admitted into the honors program, I decided to go to the smaller, less prestigious state school. I really like it here, classes are challenging, class sizes are smaller than at the the other state school, and the honors program gives me the feel of a smaller LAC. Also, my parents could afford it, i'll be graduating debt-free, unlike the majority of my friends who chose to go for the more prestigious school and graduate with thousands in debt. </p>
<p>Also, I definitely had my heart set on going to an Ivy all throughout high school. therefore I was somewhat disappointed initially about coming here, but I really think it was the best choice for me. Also, this whole experience has definitely made me realize that you'll get a good education pretty much anywhere you go. Its fantastic to be accepted to a highly-regarded school, but for me at least, the financial freedom of not being restricted by debt was absolutely worth it.</p>
<p>My safety was Indiana University-Blooomington and Purdue since most Indiana students go to either one of those schools. I got into my first-choice but I had to choose IU because of financial reasons. However, it has been great here and everything is going well. I don't regret my decision at all but if I did have enough money to go to my first choice school and got to go back in time, I would have chosen it.</p>
<p>In my experience, most students who end up at their safety school, are very happy when they get there.</p>
<p>I have mostly worked in Honors Programs at public universities. Many of the students in my programs had visions of Ivies or MITesque schools dancing in their heads. While many of them were accepted by their dream schools, they could not swing it financially so they ended up at "very good but not their dream State U." These students did not resent having missed out on their dream; in fact, almost to a person they would remark about how happy they were at State U. and they couldn't imagine being anywhere else.</p>
<p>I believe that most students will be happy wherever they end up; they make friends, they take advantage of opportunties (or not), and they go on to good jobs or good graduate programs.</p>
<p>My safety was the Honors Program in my state university, which is in the top 50 in US News. I did not want to go here, but I was more or less forced by my parents and financially.</p>
<p>I do not like it here at all, and I knew this would happen before I chose to go (hence me being forced). I've sense realized, as others have said, that it is more important to go somewhere that I will be happy rather than somewhere pragmatic. You only get one college experience; make sure you enjoy it.</p>
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I've sense realized, as others have said, that it is more important to go somewhere that I will be happy rather than somewhere pragmatic.
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<p>What I've read in this thread is "Make sure that your safety is also a good fit," which is not quite the same as your interpretation. The message I've taken away is that it's important to choose somewhere (to apply if not attend) both pragmatic and enjoyable. </p>
<p>A pragmatic but unpleasant school is, well...you seem to know how that goes. But an "enjoyable" choice that's going to leave you buried in debt, that's too far from home, etc. will likely be less pleasant in practice than in theory.</p>
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I do not like it here at all, and I knew this would happen before I chose to go
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<p>It's definitely a tough situation, and I'm sorry you find yourself in it. Even so, there's a lot to be said for the powers of open-mindedness and optimism. I hope your experience improves!</p>
<p>I ended up at my safety by choice. I got accepted to, and could afford, all the schools that I applied to except my one reach school where I was rejected.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, I'm not especially happy at my safety and I'm planning to transfer. I'm always reminding myself how I could have gone to a much better school but chose not to for stupid reasons (I thought the social scene would be better at the safety.....not true). I'm applying for transfer to the better match/slight reach school that accepted me last year.</p>
<p>That's just my experience, although I can easily see how people can be happy at a safety school.</p>