If your kid is aiming at Ivies/other elites, what were his/her safeties?

Parents Forum
141

<p>As a true safety, if you are a top kid from California, a good true safety is a mid level UC that has a program that you wouldn’t mind attending. It would help if you spent some time one summer (COSMOS, YSP) on the campus to make sure you could see yourself there. </p>

<p>For D1, safety was UC Davis. For D2, safety was UC Irvine–she also included BYU as a safety (which older D would not).</p>

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<p>For both Ds who were ELCs, “guaranteed admissions” were extended in October, even before applications were due! The gist of the letter was–Please apply to us. We will accept you if you do.</p>

142

<p>^ Sure, but if you have an EA Ivy acceptance already, then it would not be unreasonable to consider Berkeley a safety vs. “a mid-level.” If you don’t have that, then Berkeley would still be in the reachy category and a mid-level would be a safety. (And then again, if you could envision yourself at the school, would be willing to go, etc.) :)</p>

<p>(I’ve known kids who apply to a State College such as a CSU --or the equivalent in their home states) as a “safety” but truly have no intention of attending, and possibly would even take a gap year instead, if it came to that.)</p>