I know that I am supposed to have safeties, targets, and reaches, but for safeties I don’t know how much of a safety it should be. I know that safeties are supposed to be schools you are pretty sure you will get into, but I’m not sure if some of the schools I am looking at are too big safeties (as in my stats are way above the average).
How much above the average stats do you think would make a school too much of a safety?
Also, if it helps at all, I am hoping to get some pretty large merit scholarships, which is why I am looking at a decent number of safety schools.
In my opinion, there’s no such thing as too much of a safety. I’m applying to an open admissions school that I can attend for free because my mom works there. Worst case scenario, I’ll attend, try to get into the honors program, and then transfer out after a year or two.
I think “super safeties” are smart because they’re more likely to offer bigger merit scholarships. Plus, some people get waitlisted, even at their safeties. Best to have a school you’re confident you will be able to attend.
And another note - I think it’s almost better to go to a safety school if you plan on going to grad school, because a) you don’t want to put yourself in debt, and b) you don’t want to burn yourself out.
Again, this is all just my opinion. I’m also a high school student so I know as little as you.
Safety not only means that your stats are way above average, it also means that you are willing to going to that school if it comes down to that.
Safeties also mean that you can afford them and it’s generally better if safeties have an auto-admissions policy that you are qualified for.
My safety is probably UC Merced. It has an auto-admissions policy that I qualify for, it’s relatively cheap for in state, and I would not mind going there if I get rejected from all my other schools.
You don’t want your safety to be a school that you hate (Ex: you think the school sucks, you hate the environment, the school culture etc.) as there is a (hopefully small) possibility that you will actually go there.
My son applied to schools with admit rates of 5%-90%! He had a lot of safeties including Univ of Colorado, Colorado Springs (90% admit rate) Missouri S&T (83%), SDSMT (80ish%), UAH (80ish%), and a few others over 50%.
The other ‘safety’ is being willing to take a gap year and reapply if you don’t get in where you want to go. That’s what happens when your safety is too much of a safety or conversely, isn’t safe enough.
My son was considering applying to Evergreen State (open admissions) as a “super-safety,” but decided that Guilford and Eckerd were safe enough. Both accepted him (as did Tulane and Willamette) well before the general application deadlines for other colleges, and so he didn’t need a super-safety. I recommend finding match and safe schools with rolling and/or non-binding early admissions. You should hear from at least one of them before December 31st, and most ultra-safe colleges have later deadlines.
If you like the school and are looking for large merit grants, then nothing is too much of a safety. Some schools have honors programs so you might qualify for those and still get merit aid.
Some students’ safety plan is to do their first two years at an inexpensive open admission community college, then transfer to a state university to complete their bachelor’s degrees.
“Too much of a safety” would be a school that is below you when there are other “better” affordable safeties.
For instance if someone with an ACT 33 was only using his local CC as his safety, when he could afford to go to a “good univ” with a combo of merit and parents’ money, then the CC is “too much of a safety”.
Okay thank you all! This really helps a lot I believe that all of the “safety” schools I am looking at have honors colleges, and yes I am definitely looking for large merit scholarships, so schools that are pretty big safeties might end up being the ones that I can afford!
There is such thing as “too much of a safety”. If a semi-selective school surmises from your strong profile that u are using it as a safety and are likely to be admitted somewhere more desirable, it may WL you.
GMTson got a couple of surprise outcomes like this.
That is why checking whether a school considers “level of applicant’s interest” is necessary before using it as a “safety”. Other subjective criteria used for admission can also make using the school as a “safety” unreliable.
^^ GMTson made an effort to demonstrate interest. He visited the schools and spent a lot of care to personalise his essays for the schools but still was WL’ed.
Too much of a safety could also be a school that doesn’t offer everything you’re looking for in terms of programs, majors or minors or clubs, while another affordable school with a similar acceptance rate does. Don’t apply to a school you wouldn’t be okay with attending.
I disagree. I test very well but I don’t believe that makes me smarter than anybody else, so I don’t consider cc’s “below” me. Even if I did, there are many, many people who can’t afford to send their kids away to school and not all of them have a 4-year school within commuting distance. Those kids start out at their local cc’s.
You can find smart people just about anywhere, especially if you’re not afraid to widen your definition of what intelligence is. I don’t believe it’s something that can be measured by a multiple choice test, so attending a cc didn’t bother me. The best professors I had taught at the cc, and the students were not much different than those I found at either the public or the 2 private uni’s I later attended. They were a mix of people who had a variety of opportunities and experiences. The main difference was that many graduated with substantial debt and I graduated with almost none. CBS paid me just the same as the elite school grads, so I think I got the better deal.
Worst case scenario, I’ll attend, try to get into the honors program, and then transfer out after a year or two.
I believe that all of the “safety” schools I am looking at have honors colleges, and yes I am definitely looking for large merit scholarships, so schools that are pretty big safeties might end up being the ones that I can afford!