<p>Tulane and Pittsburgh. Both have the advantage of EA, so we knew months ago that at worst he could choose between two good schools.</p>
<p>My main safety was UMich because of its rolling admissions, so I knew I was in in October and therefore didn’t have to worry about getting in at least SOMEWHERE. I didn’t really have much interest in going to Michigan because it’s far away, too big, etc, so I applied to a couple more safety schools that I could go to over Michigan and was very sure I was going to get into, and those were Lehigh, Colgate, Hamilton, and Boston College. In the end I rescinded all of them because I got into Brown early decision.</p>
<p>At my school (in the northeast) pretty much the entire grade applies to Michigan rolling and about 75% get accepted, so it is a pretty great backup for us. You know early, and it’s still a really great, highly respected institution if you don’t get into a single other place.</p>
<p>One line that caught my eye in the original post was “there seem to be dozens of roughly equivalent schools right below that “top” level?” That is not really the level of a safety school, even for an Ivy-level candidate. Perhaps I am drawing too much from one statement, but safeties need to be rock-solid choices. Most schools just below the top level would be matches; you are still talking about acceptance rates below 30%.</p>
<p>That’s true. Those schools would be matches, even if you’re pretty sure they will accept you.</p>
<p>If your child will be needing financial aid, keep in mind that once you’re belw the top schools, many schools don’t meet need, so merit scholarships should be targeted.</p>
<p>Can you afford to send your child to the school of his choice?</p>
<p>The safety for my oldest son was the University of Minnesota Twin Cities, which has a strong program (arguably stronger than some colleges literally in the Ivy League) in the subjects he favors. That college was the first to give him an offer of admission. He received some other offers of admission from the early action round. He is still awaiting news from some other colleges that, on various grounds, might be preferable to him over any of the colleges that have admitted him so far. </p>
<p>My definition of a safety college is a college that </p>
<p>1) is pretty much certain to admit the applicant, based on its known behavior in acting on recent admission applications, </p>
<p>2) has a strong program in an area the applicant is interested in, </p>
<p>3) is affordable based on its known behavior in acting on financial aid applications, </p>
<p>and </p>
<p>4) is likeable to the applicant. </p>
<p>The U of Minnesota fits those criteria for my oldest son, and the offer of admission proved that it was indeed safe.</p>
<p>Most of the kids I know went the state school route–usually GT. I was somewhat unusual among my peers in choosing UGA instead, but I’m not as tech-oriented. Other schools: RPI, WPI, Tulane. One kid claimed Emory was his safety, though he also applied to Tech.</p>
<p>I originally had Bryn Mawr on the list as a semi-safety as well, but most of that list got thrown out after EA decisions came in.</p>
<p>The safety school for both of my two sons was the University of Florida. For the first, it was his first choice as well, and he was accepted ED. My second son is at MIT. He was, in fact, accepted to three schools EA (including MIT), so “the pressure was off” second-semester of senior year in HS - a blessing!</p>
<p>Many would now consider UF close to a “public Ivy” and no longer a safety school for anyone. In general, a flagship state school, especially with an Honors program, is the ideal safety school. I reject the idea that one needs more than one true safety choice.</p>
<p>I am sure the Michigan admissions people are loving some of the posts on this thread.</p>
<p>My D and S also used Michigan as a backup, although neither really thought of it as a “safety” in the true sense of the word, as used on this forum. That early acceptance sure took the pressure off. Both visited and liked Michigan and it was always in the mix as a possible.</p>
<p>This was the process in our household (a lot like “jackpot”).</p>
<p>1.) I INSISTED my daughter give her best effort to one of our in-state public school application. She selected one, applied early, is admitted, and is close to a full ride right now through scholarships. ANYTHING else, she could decide for herself.</p>
<p>2.) So she applied to her “dream school”, which is fairly intermediate: NYU. This should be a “match”, possibly with honors, but probably NOT a merit scholarship. So this one is probably too expensive.</p>
<p>3.) Then she felt “called” to Georgetown, after seeing a presentation. I’d call her chances 50-50. But, again, money will probably stop her even if she gets in.</p>
<p>4.) So, because her TEST scores are Ivy level, she did select a few Ivies. Many give more aid to middle income than would NYU or Georgetown, IF she were to get in. So…it was worth a shot, even if they are extreme reaches. </p>
<p>So…
1- Financial and academic state public safety.
1- Probable admit but too expensive private OOS
1- Possible admit but too expensive private OOS
5- Almost definite rejections - all OOS private.</p>
<p>That’s how our score card stands. Not much in that “in between” level because…she said something like “If I can’t do the best/top schools…it seems silly to pay so much for an “in between” school when we have a good public school right here…so I’d rather just take the in state and go for free and use the money for grad school”. </p>
<p>Now we’re just waiting to see if she’s been a good girl and Santa brings her anything on April 1. She EARNED her free in state, but anything good coming April 1 will truly be a “gift”.</p>
<p>D’s safety was Boston U., because it was one of the few non-Ivy schools that had a really good Classics dept. and was also in a city.</p>
<p>Most of the top students at our high school end up applying to UPitt, Penn State Schreyer, or both. Some also apply to Delaware, Maryland, and Michigan. </p>
<p>Quite a few end up turning down Ivies for one of these schools.</p>
<p>Very intriguing - u Mich was my safety some 25 yrs ago! And aid not an issue for us. We are in northeast with no real flagship publics.</p>
<p>I have a kid who applied to highly selective colleges. Her safeties were picked out with her personal selection criteria in mind and so not sure how much it helps to tell her safeties as they were not simply chosen due to being safeties but for having certain things she was looking for in a college. She had two safeties (I believe in having two so that if no reaches or matches come through, you still have options). Her two safeties were Connecticut College and Lehigh University. While she was offered a free ride at our State U (given automatically to every val in the state), that school was not on her college list as it did not meet her selection criteria and she would not have gone there and so her college list was created as if that offer did not exist. It is a fine university but didn’t have what she was looking for. I only believe in applying to schools you’d be happy to attend. I don’t believe in adding safeties that you have NO interest in. </p>
<p>I do not agree with those who feel that selective colleges that are just under the top elites/Ivies are safeties for anyone. I don’t think any school that has an acceptance rate lower than 25% is a sure bet even for top students. Someone mentioned Tufts and that is not a safety. I’m an alum interviewer for Tufts and interview countless top students, and vals, who have been declined at Tufts. My own kid loved Tufts and was a top student and even a double legacy and she considered Tufts a MATCH school on her list, and not a sure bet safety at all.</p>
<p>As a point of reference, this kid applied to four Ivies…got into 2, waitlisted at 1, and deferred EA/denied at 1. I only mention that as anyone can apply to Ivies and so it may be more relevant to explain the safeties for someone who actually got into Ivies.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>you really don’t have to have a safety or any of those with AR greater than 10% could be your safety. </p>
<p>If there is one aspect of college application I don’t know the answer, it is this picking a safety thing. How do you get a hard working highly achieved student with the top GPA/test scores/EC to like a place where anyone from your HS are going? Why can’t U of C or Duke be a safety for a super good student?</p>
<p>In my opinion, if the student has the HYP stats, he/she has a 100% chance of getting in a T20. Many here say that none of those should be safety to no one. I don’t buy that. Getting into a T20 school is really not that hard for a good student, let alone a super good student.</p>
<p>DadII…it is foolish to only apply to schools that accept less than 20% no matter how good a student one is. Sure, I expect a very strong student to be able to get into schools of that sort, but the odds are still tough given the admit rates, and these schools do turn away highly qualified applicants. </p>
<p>As far as getting a good student to like safeties…the idea is to find schools that match what they want in a college, but have a higher admit rate than the elites. For a top student, their safeties do not have to be state U or very easy schools for anyone. A top student can have a safety school that has an admit rate somewhere in the 40% range that would be hard for the average kid to get into. My D’s safety schools, Conn College and Lehigh are both pretty selective schools and have good students in them. It is not like she had to go to where the majority of kids from her HS land. Her safety schools were still pretty selective but were SAFE for HER. But schools that have very low admit rates cannot be counted on as sure bets for anyone, no matter how great they are. For those who have been on CC long enough, the story of Andison proves that.</p>
<p>I have to laugh at the notion of Duke as a safety! I did have a student who got off the wait list at Duke but he just as easily could have not. He was a val and had all the “goods” to get in.</p>
<p>Pitt’s rolling admission process </p>
<p>[University</a> of Pittsburgh: Undergraduate Admissions & Financial Aid](<a href=“http://www.oafa.pitt.edu/freshadm.aspx]University”>Office of Admissions and Financial Aid | University of Pittsburgh) </p>
<p>does make it a good choice to put on the list for students looking for colleges of a similar nature. My son has one local friend who looked strongly at Pitt for a while but now seems destined to end up at Minnesota.</p>
<p>“Figure out the characteristics that make the reach schools appealing, then look for those same characteristics in less selective schools.”</p>
<p>Beware the chicken and egg syndrome here… Does your kid like Princeton because it’s a small peaceful university, or does he think he likes small peaceful universitites because he likes Princeton? In other words, prestigious and attractive things (and things on sale) play tricks on even adult minds, where you convince yourself you like characteristic x just because object Y has it. Long story short, If you don’t get into, say, Cornell, maybe the best alternative is not a watered-down version of Cornell, but an entirely different type of college that has things Cornell doesn’t have (e.g. better weather, more intimate environment, etc.). So instead of going to Rochester when Cornell rejects you, how about going to, say, Davidson?</p>
<p>It’s like if you want a really good Irish Setter, and you can’t afford one, maybe a really good Lab is a better alternative than a mediocre Irish setter. (Note: no dogs were harmed in the creation of this post; plus I know nothing about dogs, so forgive me if the analogy doesn’t fit the breeds I picked).</p>
<p>Dad II - I have to disagree - and I have the info from the school that I work at to back it up. Example 1 is a student who was accepted last year at Harvard (she was a legacy) but denied at Georgetown and Vanderbilt. Example 2 is a student who was accepted last year at Penn, but denied at Georgia Tech and Tufts. In our view, schools such as Georgetown, Vanderbilt, Tufts, Duke, etc. are not safeties for anyone.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>LOL! DadII, you’re one funny guy.</p>
<p>In case anyone thought DadII was being serious (and that includes DadII, except he’s been around long enough to have read the stories): every year we read about kids who have HYP-ish stats and yet don’t get in to any of the wonderful reach schools they’ve applied to. Others “only” get into their state flagship. CC’s most famous example: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/192395-no-acceptances-one-kids-story-year-later.html?highlight=love+safety+andison[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/192395-no-acceptances-one-kids-story-year-later.html?highlight=love+safety+andison</a></p>
<p>U of C becomes a safety only after a successful EA application. </p>
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</p>
<p>Life, lemons, lemonade. I refuse to believe that there is any school that has absolutely nothing going for it. Find the professors who will work with an eager, hard-working student. Find the other students who are academically driven. Look for the great restaurants, museums, volunteer activities,nightclubs or hikes in the area. Join clubs, or start one. If your kid can’t find one thing to like or love about a school, they’re not trying hard enough. </p>
<p>Another part of life is learning to suck it up when things don’t go your way. Because eventually, invariably, they won’t.</p>
<p>"As far as getting a good student to like safeties…the idea is to find schools that match what they want in a college, but have a higher admit rate than the elites. For a top student, their safeties do not have to be state U or very easy schools for anyone. A top student can have a safety school that has an admit rate somewhere in the 40% range that would be hard for the average kid to get into. "</p>
<p>soozievt has said it exactly right for students who do have the stats, EC’s to be considered “Ivy” caliber. Son had USC as his “safety” and U Chicago as one of his match schools [their admit rate in 2005 was still in the 40% range and he did not apply EA, he used that card for Stanford]. He was admitted to all the colleges he applied to, save one[ his tip-top reach, including 2 Ivy’s .</p>
<p>For years, U Michigan had an admissions procedure where the staff went to the top high schools on Chicago’s north shore and, after screening by test scores and GPA’s, admitted kids on the spot.</p>
<p>If they are known as the “elites’ safety,” they come by it honestly.</p>
<p>As to Dad II’s comments on Duke being a safety, I know a couple of 35 ACT kids, one a val, the other in top 2% of class, who would like to show you their denial letters postmarked in Raleigh-Durham.</p>