<p>oops, here - not her</p>
<p>People have slightly different definitions for safety and match, for us safeties were colleges where the kids were in the upper quartile statistically and we could afford. Matches were schools where the kids were fround the 50th percentile or better and finances were assumed to work out because they had high meets need percentages and reaches were schools where the kids were slightly south of the 50th percentile and reaches were schools for us were also colleges who were known to gap significantly.</p>
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<p>Yield Protection. in other words, Tufts Syndrom</p>
<p>Neighbors daughter got into Vandy, Wake Forest etc etc and rejected by state flagship where she easily met the fit…</p>
<p>By Jan 15, D will have applied to a total of 14 schools, which sounds like too many, but it’s a good mix (I hesitate to use the word “safety”). All I want is for her to have some choices.</p>
<p>oldest applied to 4 schools, was accepted to all took a year off, applied to a reach & graduated in '06.
youngest applied to two, accepted to both and is a sophomore.</p>
<p>Gluckie,
Not sure if anyone has mentioned this yet but you stated that you are looking for a merit scholarship for your daughter. Please keep in mind that many of the top schools DO NOT
offer merit aid, only need based aid. You should check and see if Duke falls into this category.</p>
<p>tufts - this is what is on Duke’s site:</p>
<p>Merit Scholarships</p>
<p>Duke University offers a limited number of merit scholarships. All applicants for admission are considered for any available merit scholarship – specific applications are not required, and are not available. Our merit scholarship programs do not require that the winner demonstrate need; merit scholarships are based on the student’s academic and personal profile.</p>
<p>Also, when we visited Duke, they said they offer a scholarship just for Carolina residents (both N and S) which she would be considered for. After chatting with ErinsDad, my daughter has decided to continue looking for more/other schools to potentially put on her list to visit (maybe a little farther away than she would like to go, but a “just in case” scenario which seems highly possible).</p>
<p>FWIW, in the scattergrams I’ve seen there’s no sign of Tufts syndrome at Tufts. I think it’s more likely that the kids who have their eyes on the Ivies don’t spend the time on their Duke (or Tufts, or Emory) applications to make the case that they are good candidates. With holistic admissions essays can make a difference. Not always, but occasionally. </p>
<p>I certainly have one kid whose essays I think, probably made a big difference with two reach acceptances, and one whose essays probably hurt him.</p>
<p>I would add to the definition of reaches any school with an admit rate less than 20%, regardless of the student’s stats. For those tippy top schools even perfect scores and valedictorians are still a long-shot. </p>
<p>In addition, schools like Tufts that use a highly holistic, essay based approach to admits are not very stats predictable. Swarthmore and some of the other highly selective LACs would also fit into that category. Test scores and GPAs just get you to the table, outstanding essays and ECs get you in the door. Therefore, higher than a certain level of stats don’t really help at those schools, and they often turn down high stats kids.</p>
<p>Have no idea how this might apply to Duke, although it is hard to believe they have a yield problem that they are trying to protect.</p>
<p>OK, I am going to show my ignorance…what is Tufts Syndrome and Yield Protection? And thanks, 1012mom for clarifying that Tufts was a school…I have never heard of it (or if I have, I don’t remember)…not to mention the other one you mentioned.</p>
<p>I saw this with my kids and a lot of their friends, who they were in the fall of their senior year was vastly different from who they were in March when the acceptances came out. D1 (HS08) applied to 8. The very last day she decided to send an application to San Diego State which we had not even previously considered. She was accepted to 5 of 8, she narrowed it down to 3 (UCI, UCSC and San Diego State) and ended up attending (and absolutely loving) San Diego State. S2 applied to 10 (5 UC’s). We thought for sure he would not be admitted to his dream school (UCLA) so we wanted him to have lots of options, he was admitted to 7/10, including UCLA, and he loves it.</p>
<p>gluckie, Tufts Syndrome is the belief that colleges where you would think a student would be admitted when looking at their stats are in fact rejected (named after that college, believed to be a big practitioner). This happens because the college assumes that it’s being used as a “safety” and that the student will likely get into his/her higher-ranked choices and, therefore, not go to their university. </p>
<p>The reason colleges do this is “yield protection,” which refers to the idea of only taking kids who you really believe will enroll in your school. Colleges do this to improve their rankings.</p>
<p>DS2 initially applied to 14 schools, 2 of which were known to give significant merit $$ and did. He was admitted to both those 2 by October. </p>
<p>He also applied to one EA school which is his first choice, and was admitted, and two other lottery schools, one of which he might consider if admitted, and the other of which he would consider but does not expect to be admitted to, as the second took ED a classmate. He withdrew all of the other applications after EA school said yes save those 2 lottery schools. I have written the check for the EA deposit, and he has it.</p>
<p>Thanks, Youdon’tsay. I had no idea colleges would reject you for that reason…and how would they know? </p>
<p>anothermom3: what is a lottery school? I seriously have to brush up on my lingo. :-)</p>
<p>gluckie, they don’t really know; they’re just guessing, which is unfortunate when a kid really DID want to attend that school. That’s why the “Why this school?” essay is considered very important to sell your desire to attend. And demonstrated interest is important, if the college tracks it. And it’s also why some people are cagey when it comes to listing what other colleges the kids are applying to – do you show your hand by listing schools ranked higher than the one who asked? Some don’t, precisely because of fear of Tufts Sydrome.</p>
<p>I can understand where the schools are coming from, however. I mean, if you’ve never visited the campus, what are the chances you’re going to attend? Ds was accepted into two schools we never visited (Tulane and Notre Dame), but by the time decisions had to be made, he already was in at many other fine schools he had visited and already knew he loved, so they got pushed to the side.</p>
<p>A lottery school is a term for a school that takes so few kids considering the number of applicants (think single-digit acceptance rates) that getting in has odds akin to winning the lottery.</p>
<p>My son applied to 12 schools. This was because he was very interested in attending a highly selective school, and (in our opinion) it makes sense to apply to more of these, because you can’t predict which of them might admit you.
My definitions of reach, match, and safety:
Reach: a school for which your qualifications make you competitive, but that takes only a small percentage of applicants (as in, “Harvard is a reach for everyone”) OR a school for which your qualifications place you below average in terms of competitiveness for admission.
Match: A school that is more likely than not to accept a student with your qualifications.
Safety: A school that is highly likely to accept a student with your qualifications AND which you can definitely afford to attend AND which you would be willing to attend.
A “True Safety”: Same as a Safety, except that it will definitely accept you (i.e., it automatically accepts people with your grades and scores).</p>
<p>Am enjoying reading all the “definitions” including Hunt’s reach, match, safety. I got to brush up by lurking-- gluckie went out on the limb (thanks)! ;)</p>
<p>i am learning a lot on here :-)</p>
<p>Our school uses these definitions - but they do vary from school to school.
Far reach - chances are modest - because of your qualifications and/or the admissions rate of the school
Reach - chances are more than modest, but far from sure
Likely - chances are good - you are above average for the school and/or admissions rate is generous
Match - chances are very good - just a bit better than likely - perhaps because you fit the school well
Safety - chances are nearly 100% - and you can afford it
Everybody needs a safety. Everybody needs to realize that applying to a ton of reach/far reach schools does not mean you will get into any of them. Everybody needs to know that it is difficult to estimate what kind of aid you will get - very similar schools may have very different resources.</p>
<p>My son applied to 9. The first 7 were aligned with his Army ROTC application. The 8th was an in-state super-safety and the 9th was a private safety with great merit aid. </p>
<p>gluckie, if your D likes Duke, has she considered Wake Forest? Might be a better chance for merit aid there.</p>