<p>This post is not even just about safeties (the fact that he had just one and it was one he was not interested in), but this student had NO match schools. Sorry, but the schools on his list would be considered REACHES for any student given the state of elite admissions today (the very slim/low admit rates and the lottery nature where even highly qualified kids are turned away). The fact that he had NO Match schools is the quandry here and what I have seen time and again on many kids' posted college lists. Yes, a student with his stats should be able to get into one of those schools but because it is so unpredictable at those schools (they turn away kids with 1600 and who are ranked first in the class!), they cannot be counted on with any decent odds, sorry. I have a kid who had great qualifications but in no way did she count on getting into one of the reach schools, though we thought she had as good a chance as anyone and that at least one would come through (more actually did) but she certainly had match schools and safety schools. Her safeties were not easy schools either. Also, she was not dead set on it having to be her reach schools. Honestly, two of her match schools, she liked better than one of her reach schools. </p>
<p>This is a sad story to me. Yes, he will get a good education but it is sad to see someone go off to a school that he is not excited about and that feels like a consolation prize (to him). There are so many schools that he could have gotten into that were between UW and the schools on his list, that would have provided him with the challenge and atmosphere he might have been psyched about. </p>
<p>Amused, there is no way to call Dartmouth, Columbia or even UChicago a match/reach. Yes, a highly qualified student might have a profile that "matches" these very competitive schools, but the odds of getting in, are STILL a "reach" because of numbers, not cause of not being good enough. People need to fully understand the current state of elite college admissions if they are going to enter the game. You might have what it takes to get to the gate but it does not always mean you will get in the gate. Better to be fully cognizant of that when making the college list and to find schools that are a match with your stats but also have a higher acceptance rate in terms of the odds game. Makes logical and statistical sense. I don't quite get how kids have these lists but I assume it is due to a lack of knowledge of today's elite college situation because it is not like it maybe once was where you might assume that a kid with outstanading credentials could OF COURSE get in. I mean I have folks in my community, even TEACHERS AND GCs who thought my kid could get in ANYWHERE she wanted and WE had to tell THEM, AIN'T so.....not cause she was not qualified but because we were well versed on elite college admissions. This is something that needs reiterating here a lot and I am glad for the OP for posting this boy's situation and I HOPE that any kids (or parents) reading it, heeds the message....</p>
<p>Ideally, ANY student, even a val with a 4.0uw and a kid with SATs in the 1500s and all that jazz, should have approx. 40% reach schools (these can include schools where the stats appear to be a match but due to acceptance rates are a lottery ticket), 40% match/ballpark schools, and 20% safety schools. Safety schools for the very top student need not mean the local state university (though nothing wrong with this option) but merely schools that he/she could definitely get into that are worth going to for that student. Some kids' safety schools, in other words, might be another kid's match (or even reach) schools. I will give as an example, that my own kid had Lehigh and Conn College as safeties which were not easy schools to get into but we felt confident about her admissions to these (and were correct) and she liked them very much and put as much into those apps and visits as her reach schools (important!). I'll add that she was offered a full ride and Honors College at our state univ. to which she had no intention of applying as she did not wish to go there and thus it was not the best safety for her and she found ones she liked better.</p>
<p>Susan</p>