<p>What does everyone think about the need for a safety? If you apply to several competitive schools (as in around 8), does that have a similar effect? Or would the safety be needed on top of that?</p>
<p>a safety is always needed (my opinion, though) you aren't always going to be sure about admittance and rejections. Be sure that for certain colleges you apply, you are quite sure there is a high chance for you to apply. If you have good stats and all that and you are applying to top schools, be sure to include some "safeties".</p>
<p>"Be sure that for certain colleges you apply, you are quite sure there is a high chance for you to apply"</p>
<p>the last part should be "for you to get admitted"</p>
<p>Kev, you can edit and delete your posts after you post them by clicking the edit button in the lower right.</p>
<p>Safeties are definitely important. Each applicant should have safeties, matches, and reaches (you can obviously cut out reaches if you love your other schools). Applying to eight schools does not mean you will not be rejected at every one of them. That is not the way statistics works. Every kid needs to apply to schools where he or she has a high chance of being admitted. Now, I do know kids rejected from safeties who were accepted at reaches. It happens. But, that doesn't mean it will happen to you, and you cannot depend on being accepted to a competitive school.</p>
<p>It is vital to apply to at least two schools that you love and will probably get into. Also, you need to have financial safeties that you are sure you can afford, if this is an issue. Give just as much consideration to your safety schools as your reaches, and apply to a couple of them. Then you will be happy no matter what happens.</p>
<p>Well, it is the way statistics work (probabalistically, you have a 94.24% chance of getting accepted into at least one college if you apply to 8 with around a 30% chance for each), but I understand the idea that it might not be quite the way admissions work (although some people compare college admissions to the lottery, it's possible that if you aren't good enough for one elite college, you aren't good enough for any).</p>
<p>I really appreciate the input, and I have a college in mind that serves both safety purposes (financial and admission: Pittsburgh), so I guess I'll definitely apply there. To be honest, I will be a bit disappointed if I end up having to go there, but that may just be because it means I got rejected at 8 other schools!</p>
<p>Thanks, kevster and corranged.</p>
<p>If you think a safety (or two) isn't necessary, read this archived thread - and be sure to read the link within the thread.
<a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=96791%5B/url%5D">http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=96791</a></p>
<p>Unfortunately, the experiences of the poster who started the above thread are not unique. Almost every year there are sad tales of woe here of people who thought they were "auto admits" to the schools on their list and then were waitlisted or rejected by every school on their list. </p>
<p>It's always a good idea to have a safety net.</p>
<p>The statistics won't work since they do not factor in your chance of admission, which is unknown. The Ivies have about 10%-15% acceptence rates.</p>
<p>Thank you very much for posting that, Carolyn. It's a little scary, but I feel good knowing how wonderful my GC is at putting together lists and making sure every kid at my school gets into college (which they always do). It's great to read that Andison is taking a meaningful-sounding gap year and will hopefully start college next fall. Even if the worst happens, it's not the end of the world.</p>
<p>Just because you apply to a bunch of competative colleges doesnt mean your gonna get into all of them!!!! If you apply with a 3.0 to all the ivies and nowhere else, you could get rejected from all of them and be stuck. they all look for the same things in college students. Always, <em>Always</em> apply to a safety school. if you dont you could get stuck for a year.</p>
<p>On a different note, does a safety have to be a college below your stats level, an totally gaurenteed entry or can it be a college you are 99% sure you can get into? Im postive i can get into the UW-Madison. Im in-state, im above average in every respect, i go to a feeder school, and my dad is a professor for madison (kinda, hes a doctor who teaches residents in a different town) of course there is always the chance that somehow i get rejected, i mean im good but who knows? should i still apply to one of the smaller school just to be absolutly safe?</p>
<p>Even with a 15% chance, it comes out to ~75% of at least one acceptance with 8 schools (hardly secure, though). Of course, that's the chance for a random applicant (for an Ivy, too, and I'm only applyng to one of those), not for just me, so acceptance rates don't really represent your chance at getting into a school. I still understand the problem with the whole idea, though, and I agree that it's probably worth playing it safe. I do think that applying to several competitive schools takes some of the "chance" out of it (which I highly doubt anyone would deny is present to some extent), but, regardless, I think I will apply to Pitt (a good safety for me, I think... especially financially). Thanks for everyone's input.</p>
<p>Yeah, i mean if your not good enough for one ivy, what makes you good enough for another? i mean lets face it, educationaly speaking the ivies are <em>very</em> similer both in what they offer and what they are looking for. As much as we like to think it is, it isnt random, they really are looking for bright capable students.</p>
<p>If you are lucky enough, you will only need to apply to reaches if you applied EA/ED.</p>