<p>When it comes to safeties, it seems that there are two ways to go:</p>
<p>1) Huge In-state university: Ohio State, Penn State, Illinois, etc (whatever your flagship happens to be)</p>
<p>2) Smaller private: Marquette, Saint Louis University, Elon, Loyola Maryland, etc</p>
<p>The odd thing I guess is that it seems many students who prefer small-mid sized schools (those applying to WashU, Hopkins, etc) choose a huge state school as a safety instead of a smaller school with high scholarship potential.</p>
<p>What do YOU think is important in a safety school? </p>
<p>For example: At UIUC you could have tons of resources and opportunities but be a face in the crowd. At Marquette your opportunities might be more limited but you could be towards the top of your class and receive personal attention.</p>
<p>To me, there are several important things in a safety school. First is cost. You want to be sure that a safety will not cost too much. For some people, though, this doesn’t matter. Second is academic offering. Though a safety is, by definition, not as good as you could have gotten into, you still want some similar programs. Obviously, you don’t want to go a college where engineering is not offered if you have interests in engineering. Third is atmosphere/fit. Again, this school may not perfectly fit you, but you should be at least reasonably happy at a safety.</p>
<p>I think the reason why large state schools tend to be a safety school is a combination of those factors. In-state safety schools are pretty cheap to begin with, and will probably offer some merit scholarships. They usually offer a breadth of majors that satisfy most people. Finally, except for people who truly dislike big schools, simply due to the size, you’re likely to find someone who’s at least somewhat like you. Students at smaller schools tend to be more homogeneous.</p>