<p>I'm sure this comes up a lot, but can't find what I need to know. My daughter is a junior who just returned from a college search trip on the west coast. She looked at the Claremont schools she was interested in--CMC, Scripps, Pomona, as well as Stanford and Cal. She loved Pomona and Scripps, liked Stanford, but did not care for the others. The problem is that all three schools are hideously hard to get into. Yes, her scores and GPA are a "match" for top schools, but really, these schools are reaches for anyone, since every student who applies likely has numbers as good as hers.</p>
<p>We are full pay and she's a legacy at Stanford, which might help there, but we have no ties to Scripps or Pomona and Pomona is her top choice. She did say that she would be willing to look at other women's colleges, since she liked Scripps so much. Would Mount Holyoke be a good safety for her, since they let in 58% and she's also a legacy there? Or do we need to guide her to a school that's even less competitive?</p>
<p>She definitely wants a school with a strong liberal arts tradition, as well as a good music program where non-majors still have access to practice rooms and lessons. She would also prefer a climate that is nicer than New England's, although she won't rule out staying if she doesn't get into one of her top choices.</p>
<p>It seems like they might be a good match/safety. If her stats are very high then the %admitted would help. The only difficulty in saying is Essays, recs, ECs, and interview still play a big role in admission and there’s no telling how those go.</p>
<p>A good safety is one which she would be happy to go and she has better than 50% chance of getting. Our kids’ safety was our alma mater. </p>
<p>With D2, we were better prepared, she applied to her top choice ED (Cornell), and EA to 2 other schools ( u of Mich and UVA). The strategy was her chance of getting into Cornell ED was higher than RD, since we were full pay, Ed was a good route for D2. If she didn’t get into Cornell ED, and she was able to get into those EA schools, the pressure would be less, and she could choose not to apply to some safeties and matches. </p>
<p>D1 wasn’t happy with her safeties, which made it very stressful for us. We made sure D2 had few safeties she liked, just in case. We also spent more time contacting and visiting those safeties because sometimes a student could get denied because the school knows it is a safety. If Pomona is your D’s favorite, try to find schools similar to Pomona, but next tier down.</p>
<p>I think her essay will be good–she has a very clear, distinctive voice and writing is probably her strongest talent. With ECs, it’s hard to tell–she’s pursued her passions, but hasn’t done anything extraordinary. I know she interviews well, though, because when she was applying for an internship last summer, the coordinator told her she could skip the interview training. I will be taking her to see Mount Holyoke and Wellesley later this spring, so if she likes MHC, perhaps she has a good shot and will have at least one safety on her list.</p>
<p>To me, finding those schools that will certainly take your student, will provide the education s/he wants, is a school that s/he likes and is affordable is the real challenge of picking colleges. Anyone can cherry pick the top names even off a list and hope to get accepted. It’s finding the lesser known schools and programs that make this tough. Otherwise you are just engaged in a game of craps. </p>
<p>If you can find some schools that have early or rolling action and are able to apply ED for a sure first choice, that can cover the whole issue well.</p>
<p>Too many times, people consider a safety to be just a place they know they will get into…but it also has to be a place where your D can see herself being happy at. Look at some schools like Mount Holyoke and if she can see herself there, it is a good back-up. I think that if you show interest (ex. visit the school) she won’t be denied if her stats are “too high”</p>
<p>I also agree, that if you can find a EA or rolling school that is a good start. </p>
<p>If you are full pay and money is not part of the equation you have a good situation.</p>
<p>I agree with CPT, that a safety with early action takes a lot of pressure off. If she liked Scripps, consider Mills in Oakland, which does have non binding early action, and excellent music.</p>
<p>Scripps is much easier to get into than the other 2. If she really is competitive for Stanford and Pomona, I’d be surprised if she didnt get into Scripps.</p>
<p>A safety must be a school where the student is certain to be admitted. (Note: schools considering “level of interest” in admissions cannot be safeties.) In many cases, state universities have relatively predictable admissions policies, or may even write on their web sites that a certain threshold of grades/rank and test scores means automatic admission (or merit scholarship – e.g. University of Alabama schools). Such schools would be the most assured admissions safeties. Open admission community colleges are default safety options in this aspect.</p>
<p>It must also be definitely affordable. (This is probably not an issue if the family is willing to full pay up to $60,000 per year.)</p>
<p>It must also be a school where the student would like to go to, and is academically and otherwise appropriate. (The OP’s mention of music opportunities for non-music majors would be an example of a criterion here.) What can make selecting safety school difficult is if all of the schools that fulfill this criterion are selective or costly enough that they do not fulfill the certain admission or definite affordability criteria described above.</p>
<p>I second checking out Mills. It is very small (and all girls), so if that doesn’t bother her it would be a great option. It would be a safety and she would most likely get merit. The campus is gorgeous.</p>