Need help (still) with selecting a safety school

College Search & Selection
1

<p>I am still uncertain about which safety school I should pick. My 5 criteria are:</p>

<ol>
<li>Must have Astronomy, Astrophysics, or Physics w/ Astrophysics track major</li>
<li>Acceptance rate of over 2/3 acceptance rate</li>
<li>Do not look at applicant interest and interview</li>
<li>Cannot be from the South or West (except CA)</li>
<li>Must not be affiliated with any religion</li>
</ol>

<p>Currently I have UMass Amherst as my safety school but its average admit has a GPA of 3.6 unweighted. My GPA is terrible: 3.55 unweighted and 3.69 weighted, though I do show a significant upward trend. I am hoping that there's a school like UMass Amherst that has a lower average admitted GPA.</p>

2

<p>I think a community college is ok, if you want a college with over 2/3 acceptance. </p>

<p>A community college isn’t in the South or West, as a local community college can be found where you live.</p>

<p>Community colleges are public, so they aren’t affilitated with any religion.</p>

3

<p>I do not want to go to a Community College. Ever. =(</p>

4

<p>Safety college? That’s easy. Harvard.</p>

5

<p>One of your state universities?</p>

6

<p>That major is really uncommon. But, I have a friend who was interested in it so some options may be:
Penn State U Park
U of Delaware
U of Minnesota, Twin Cities
Indiana U in Bloomington
UW Madison</p>

<p>Safer still…
Ohio State, Columbus
U of Iowa</p>

<p>Hope this was helpful!</p>

7

<p>I’m trying to figure out why tOSU is more safe than UDel when the scores are higher at OSU? Or Iowa. Still, come good choices.</p>

8

<p>@Jayay90: thanks, but some of those are not even close to a safety for me. Because of my unimpressive GPA and terrible class rank (if not for my 2100 SAT score, I would not call any of those a safety), what is a safety for others, such as Penn State U Park or UWisMad, is a match or low match for me.</p>

9

<p>Ok, in all seriousness (The community college was jest), what is your rank compared to your GPA? You GPA might be excellent depending on your rank. Some schools give bad grades to all students, so your rank is very important. You say your rank is terrible, but how terrible? Your GPA isn’t un-impressive. May not be cut for Elite colleges, but most schools that aren’t elite aren’t possessive about GPA.</p>

10

<p>^ I bombed my freshman year, which caused my GPA and rank to be lower. I didn’t take any Honors/AP my Fresh/Soph years, which caused my GPA to be ever lower. It’s true that many colleges are “possessive” about GPA, but every school that has an Astronomy or Astrophysics program are more likely than not to be at least somewhat selective. Even the least selective selective schools with these programs, such as the University of Iowa which have >80% acceptance rate, have a high average admitted GPA (about 3.5, I believe).</p>

<p>I feel desperate right now.</p>

11

<p>Exactly how terrible is the rank? You didn’t say…Your GPA isn’t bad. AND with a 2100 SAT I’d consider penn state a low match and Ohio State and U of iowa definite safety options. Unless your rank really IS horrible, but based on your assessment of your GPA,i doubt it. Your SAT is probably above the typical applicant, which might off-set your ‘terrible’ GPA.</p>

<p>You have no reason to feel ‘desperate’…Calm down lol. You have plenty of options.</p>

<p>@ Erin’s Dad: Both Ohio State and U of Iowa have admissions rates above 75% U Del hovers near 50%.</p>

12

<p>My rank, which is based on UW GPA, is probably at or above 60th percentilei f you take into account freshman year. >_> My school also gives a 10-12 rank, mine of which is currently at about 90th percentile.</p>

13

<p>Do you mean you are in the top 40% with freshman year included, top 10% looking at only the last two years (since you haven’t gone through senior year)?</p>

14

<p>Yes .</p>

15

<p>“must have Acceptance rate of over 2/3 acceptance rate.”</p>

<p>Are you saying that the school must accept 66% - 100% of its applicants (meaning that it accepts nearly all/all applicants?)</p>

<p>Or did you mean to say that the school must only accept less than 33% of its applicants?</p>

16

<p>^ It wouldn’t be a safety then if it accepts less then 33% of applicants would it?</p>

17

<p>Uh, I meant 66% or more acceptance rate</p>

18

<p>ryanxing,</p>

<p>Every single student needs to identify at least one rock-solid True Safety. This is a place that guarantees admission to you based on your grades and test scores, that you can pay for without any financial aid other than federally determined financial aid (FAFSA), that offers your major (or the first two years of the major if it is a community college), and that you are willing to attend if everything else goes wrong in your application process.</p>

<p>Chances are that your True Safety is a public university or community college in your home state. And, yes, I know that you don’t want to attend a community college, but please do consider this option. Students who buckle down and get the grades and letters of recommendation end up transferring to top institutions. Here is a link to information about where transfers from one Maryland CC end up: <a href=“http://www.montgomerycollege.edu/transfer/Destinations2008.pdf[/url]”>http://www.montgomerycollege.edu/transfer/Destinations2008.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>If your major isn’t offered at any of your in-state public colleges/universities, find out which regional agreements your state subscribes to. You should be able to study at a public institution in a nearby state for in-state tuition and fees so that you can pursue that particular major.</p>

<p>College Confidential now has its own search engine. You can find it on the main page of the website. It will allow you to screen for lack of religious affiliation, majors, scores, grades, and other things. If you haven’t tried it yet, do so.</p>

<p>Wishing you all the best.</p>