One of my kids applied to college in fall 2005 to start fall 2006…so it’s been a while. She applied initially only to three schools all of which were deemed sure things for admission…
Santa Clara University (where she went)
University of South Carolina (where she didn’t go…but received a HUGE scholarship had she chosen it)
University of San Diego.
This kid was top 5% of her graduating class…but she couldn’t crack 1250 on the SAT.
Still…at the time, these were very attainable colleges for her. And she liked them all.
I should add…we told both of our kids not to waste a dime of money or a minute of time applying to colleges they didn’t like. With the large number of colleges in this country…find something you like!
And I will add….EVERY kid needs a sure thing for admission that is affordable that they like…every kid. This thread I’m going to link is an old one but should be mandatory reading for everyone. This kid did land on his feet…but not without a bit of angst first.