Finding Safety Schools?

College Search & Selection
1

Hello! I’m a senior in Louisiana and I’ve been lurking for awhile, but lately I’ve been having a lot of trouble trying to find colleges that are less competitive to get into. My top choices are the University of Pennsylvania and University of Chicago, and others I’m looking at are John Hopkins University, Swarthmore, and Barnard but I know they’re all reach schools.

Stats: 4.75 weighted GPA, (valedictorian)
4.0 unweighted
35 ACT
750 English Lit SAT Subject Test, 780 Math Level II SAT Subject Test
National Merit Semi-Finalist, AP Scholar with Distinction

My parents are willing to pay quite a lot, but definitely can’t afford to pay full tuition.

For colleges I was mainly looking out for large cities/close to large cities, (north-east(ish) area preferred, a strong international relations program, diverse student body, good teacher/student ratio, strong study abroad programs, and won’t leave me in severe debt (merit aid??). Does anyone have any recommendations for some ‘safety’ schools? Thanks so much!

2

Not in the northeast: Macalester.

3

Here are Boston area ones:
https://www.universities.com/find/boston/best/business/international-relations

I think Northeastern would be a safety/low match. Good location and campus for Boston. Maybe BU would also be a safety/low match

4

Georgetown (D.C.) - strong undergraduate and graduate international relations programs - Fall 2016 acceptance rate of 17%.

5

Have your parents run net price calculators on the schools on your list already, and agreed that they can pay the amount shown?

6

^@Defensor 17% doesn’t sound safe.

7

Class valedictorian with a GPA, ACT and SATs that high?! She’ll be a virtual slam dunk for Georgetown. With those numbers, Penn may very well accept her.

Also, she can certainly make a few other safety choices if she’s that worried about it. But with her numbers and interest in international relations, Georgetown is a most excellent choice.

8

American Univ if you can pay what the NPC shows

9

@byungirl, how much is “quite a lot” (re: your parents paying for college)? Costs are extremely high at many schools: $60-$70K total a year for students who don’t qualify for need-based aid, as I imagine you are aware. Based on your post, it sounds like you may be in the category of so many students whose parents have means but are not able to pay $250K/child for undergrad.

If you are a senior, this is something that is important to get solid information about ASAP. As @intparent said, run the NPC, look at your estimated family contribution, and make sure you are talking with your parents about this.

You’ve done really well in high school and it seems likely that someone with your stats would get decent merit aid, but I suggest really looking at what your parents are able and willing to pay even if you get good aid, and make sure you have some schools on the list that are financially viable. For example, if you get $20K/year in merit aid at a school where COA is $65K, can they pay $45K a year?

10

With your NM status, definitely consider Fordam, which would definitely be a safety and offers full tuition scholarships for NM semifinalists - see https://www.fordham.edu/info/21251/fordham_scholarships_and_grants/2532/scholarships_for_us_citizenseligible_non-citizens (I might be mistaken, but from the web site it looks like the NM scholarship is pretty much guaranteed).

Also consider NYU, which would be a strong match or safety with your stats. NYU is notorious for its overall weak financial aid, but can be very generous to high stat applicants.

Also, you might consider Bryn Mawr - another strong match which does offer some merit aid.