<p>So on CC, I see a lot of posts about safety schools. I'm new here so I'm just figuring out all the CC jargon, but I presume the term means a school you are absolutely sure to get into in case you don't get into the top schools of your choice. I've been doing a lot of college searching lately and I have an idea of quite a few schools I'd love to go to, but I suppose none of them are really safeties. So my question is, how can you determine whether or not a school is a safety for you? What do you look at?</p>
<p>Compare your stats--scores and class rank--to their published ranges, and look at the percentage of applicants they accept. But there is no hard and fast rule. It's a sliding scale of safeness.</p>
<p>If you are in the top 25%, and they accept 65% of applicants, and you class rank fits the picture, consider it a safety. If you are in the top 25% but they accept 20%, it's not a safety.</p>
<p>Look at the average SAT, GPA, ACT, other stats and look to see where you compare compared to other past accepted peoples. For example, if this college had these stats and your SAT's were a 2000, you would be in approx the 75th percentile:</p>
<p>Average SAT Scores for Class of 2012:
1750-2000</p>
<p>It's a safety if you are like wayyy above like in the aforementioned case like a 2150.</p>
<p>A safety is one that admits more than a third of its applicants and you are in the top third academically of those who were admitted last year. Adjust if you are a URM or a gender that they are trying to attract more of, if you come from a part of the country that the school is eager to recruit from, have a major that is under-represented at the school relative to the size of the dept., have an usual skill or talent that the school is seeking...</p>
<p>As you can see, its more art than science.</p>
<p>For many students the obvious safety is one of their home state's public universities. Others look at colleges that are down a tier or two and are trying to climb the rankings by attracting better students with merit aid.</p>
<p>A concept that I learned here was the idea of a "financial safety". Make sure you have one that will be affordable if merit offers or financial aid doesn't work out as expected. Start talking with your family now to get a sense of how much money will be available to you. Do this even if you think your family is well off. There have been several cases on CC where kids report that the parents won't pay past a certain amount, even if they could. Things get sticky here too if the parents are divorced.</p>
<p>Look for the online EFC calculators to get a rough idea of how much your family could be expected to pay.</p>
<p>A safety is a school where you are above the 75th percentile SAT (but within 100 points or so of the 75th percentile). If you are more than 100 points above the 75th, then the school is too far below you. Don't apply.</p>
<p>Thanks to everyone so far! So do you think it would be alright if I considered schools such as American U and Northeastern safeties?</p>
<p>For American U, the middle 50% of freshmen had an ACT composite of 25 - 30 (and I am in that range) with 53% of applicants admitted and</p>
<p>Northeastern with the middle 50% of freshmen having an ACT score of 25-29 and 39% of applicants admitted.</p>
<p>However, neither are in my state (Ohio).</p>
<p>But I suppose then I could definitely count Case Western as a safety since 75% of applicants are admitted with an ACT of 26-31 and I am in state?</p>
<p>American U, probably. Northeastern... maybe. Possibly more of a low match, because you're in the middle range and their acceptance rate is a bit lower. Also remember that Northeastern is in Boston... which means a lot of Harvard/Tufts/BC hopefuls use it as a safety/low match. So the accepted students' mid-ACTs may be very different from those of the matriculating students.</p>
<p>You could do what we did: start a thread asking other people who are interested in your favorites what their safety schools are.</p>
<p>In this case the first responder suggested Tulane as a safe school for Vanderbilt applicants. It has a lot of similarities and is easier to get in.</p>
<p>
[quote]
But I suppose then I could definitely count Case Western as a safety since 75% of applicants are admitted with an ACT of 26-31 and I am in state?
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Case is very rarely a safety, and you being in state is irrelevant, since in state/out of state only matters for state schools.</p>
<p>"A safety is a school where you are above the 75th percentile SAT (but within 100 points or so of the 75th percentile). If you are more than 100 points above the 75th, then the school is too far below you. Don't apply."</p>
<p>This is completely false. By this reasoning, everyone with a 1600 should consider Harvard a safety.</p>
<p>Well if I fit into the Case tier of a 26-31 on the ACT, on the upper end too, mind you, and they admit 75% of applicants, why can't I consider that a safety?! 75% of applicants seems like a pretty good number. Also, school wise, I have a 4.8 weighted gpa, 4.0 unweighted, with all honors and AP classes and rank in the top 10 kids out of my class of 650 or so. </p>
<p>If I can't consider Case a safety with an acceptance rate like that, what can I?</p>
<p>I'd gamble on Case. Just make sure the application and any supplement gets as much attention as your other apps. Some people shoot themselves in the foot by not taking enough care with the safety application.</p>
<p>A safety must be considered from the financial standpoint as well. So it's a school you can be reasonably "safe" as getting in, which your family could reasonably safely afford.</p>
<p>Case is highly self-selective, in that it doesn't get a lot of "fluff" applications.</p>
<p>Also consider the % of students who submit ACT vs. SAT scores. You might want to figure out a rough SAT equivalent in order to better compare at schools that are mostly SAT.
SAT-ACT</a> Concordance Tables</p>
<p>For a safety, you should match or exceed the 75th percentile--e.g. for Case, that would be at least a 31. If you fall comfortably in the middle, it is a match. For top-tier schools factor in acceptance rate, but otherwise self-selectivity makes it moot (e.g. Grinnell is generally considered more selective than Macalester, but Macalester has a lower acceptance rate by nearly 10%).</p>
<p>If you have a good GC, talk to him/her - he will be familiar with srudents from your HS and how they do. BTW, my Ds GC recommended a school, and when she went for an interview she really liked it. Also, my personal advice is look at the misery threads where kids dont get in anywhere. Make certain you treat your safety seriously. Find 2 your would not be upset if you ended up there. If they recommend interviews, take one. Give reasons why you really like the school. All schools (ok, other than HYP) are concerned with having a good ratio of people they accept enroll there -- dont let them think they arent a serious contender.</p>
<p>Good safeties for an Ohio Student with a 31 ACT and good grades are often Ohio State, Ohio University, Miami, or Cincinnati. Depends on your major and whether you want big school-OSU or not. These have the advantage of often being financial safeties because of in-state tuition. (If Case were the only school you were accepted to AND you received no merit scholarships or financial aid, would it still be a good fit? Would you go to Case if it were full pay?)</p>
<p>If it came down to it, I definitely do not want to go to school in Ohio. What would be some safeties in the New England/NY area? Do you think Syracuse could be a possible safety or more of a match?</p>
<p>The schools I'm really interested in are Cornell, Brown, and Dartmouth as being my super reaches. Then I have a few other reaches like Brandeis and Boston College. Then there are semi-reach/match schools like Boston U, American U, Northeastern, and George Washington. Then I have semi-safety/matches like Syracuse and Case (which is the only school in Ohio I'd be interested in). </p>
<p>So going on this information, what safeties would you recommend knowing what colleges I have in mind?</p>
<p>What major are you looking for?</p>
<p>I'm not really sure. Either economics, international relations as I'm trilingual, or political science.</p>