<p>Yes…safety schools where the student could continue to pursue music!</p>
<p>The only “safety school” that I see here would possibly be Rutgers. UVA and Vanderbilt are not safeties for anyone even with perfect test scores and GPA. These kids also get rejected or wait listed all the time at schools such as Tulane and Case Western. </p>
<p>A safety for a kid with these stats and a passion for music would be St Olaf. Excellent LAC in Minnesota. Lawrence is a good safety school for a music-inclined student but it’s a bit less strong in terms of academics, except in Physics.</p>
<p>Most of the thread is suggestions of safety schools for my son. But I had said at the beginning that his dream school was Yale and that he was going to apply SCEA. When I also mentioned applying early to other schools, some people thought that wasn’t possible. So the end of this was clarifying that this is possible if you follow the rules. From my initial list, it was suggested that while Michigan is very likely we should not count it as a safety. Ditto for UVA, and I suspect that one is a little less safe for a few reasons, including that my son is a double legacy at Michigan. But he will still apply early to both and hope for the best. I told him that he also needs to apply to two true safeties. We are going to tour Rutgers and then decide if that will be one safety. He is also considering Northeastern and Tulane at the moment. We are still in flux but trying to find a few safety schools that still offer most of what he wants.
Any other suggestions are welcome! Thanks!</p>
<p>If he’d be happy at Rutgers no need to add Northeastern IMHO. It has much less of the vibe he is looking for.</p>
<p>Thanks. Just curious what you mean about the vibes at Rutgers vs Northeastern. I am not too familiar with Northeastern but on paper it seems ok. </p>
<p>Northeastern is VERY pre-professional. Coop program for kids who want an apprentice type environment. The kids I know who have gone there (and are there now) are all there to get in and get out, i.e. emerge with a good job as quickly as possible.</p>
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<p>I cringe. </p>
<p>Kids who have “dream schools” often end up viewing the admissions process at a measure of their self-worth when , beyond developing a competitive profile, their admissions decision is beyond their control. Most kids get rejected. These dreams get crushed. </p>
<p>I think it’s important to dissuade kids from having a dream school and to focus on a dream life, which is a lofty goal they have far more control of. There are many schools that a kid can attend to make forward progress on that dream life. </p>
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<p>Even worse may be the situation where a student fixates and a “dream school” that will admit him/her, but won’t be realistically affordable, sometimes tempting him/her to take unreasonable amounts of debt to attend (e.g. those stories of NYU graduates with over $100,000 in debt).</p>
<p>I noticed another mention of St. Olaf and Lawrence.</p>
<p>They are small and I’m not sure how they are on merit aid, but they’re both respected LACs with strong music and science programs (likely no engineering major since they are LACs, of course…) and your son could all but treat them as safeties. </p>
<p>I agree with the sentiment behind Tulane, but be sure to show them your interest to help move it closer to the “safety” realm. </p>
<p>I entirely empathize with your struggles in this, OP: the high-stat kid’s search for a safety that is still academically very challenging and reasonably small is a topic that repeats on this forum, precisely because it is so tough. The whole “love your safety” mantra becomes pretty meaningless in such a situation. Accepting that a safety involves tradeoffs, and thus will not likely be entirely satisfactory, I’m focused on finding as many matches as possible and resisting the temptation to focus on reaches. Surely, with a well-chosen, realistic and lengthy list of matches, the chances are good that someone will accept one’s kid. </p>
<p>(I’m finding it difficult to get my family to deal with a list that features schools they mostly haven’t heard of, when, as OP said, everyone’s sure he’ll get into whatever school he wants. The whole process makes me look to them like I don’t have faith in my own son!) </p>
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<p>If you consider Michigan likely, you must live in Michigan. DS is also a double-legacy, high stats, full-pay, varsity athlete from an elite high school known to every college in the country. College counseling office says Michigan is a reach for every student there as too many ivy-caliber kids use it as a safety. Michigan is wise to that game and admits very few kids from his school.</p>
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<p>Probably because, at a small school, a top student for whom the school is a safety would be an academic outlier with few student peers. At a large school, there would be enough such students to be worth offering honors or other courses more rigorous than those targeted toward the median student.</p>
<p>Northeastern is a good match for him to apply to - they offer music classes free (both instrumental and choral) and you can get lessons from professors (not sure how this works but I have seen it advertised) - they also have a pep band that plays at their sports events. Plus they have an honors program which might suit him. The vibe is very different from Rutgers - it is very much a city school and the kids are very practical. I would suggest he apply to both. (Although if he does Yale SCEA he can not do Northeastern EA). I know kids who are very happy in honors program at both Rutgers and Northeastern.</p>
<p>Mary- thanks for your understanding :). Just this weekend we have been discussing colleges with family. As one person left she said, I’m sure he will get into his first choice! I said I am not very sure at all. </p>
<p>So, I prefer to be conservative and have a few real safeties on the list. </p>
<p>If he applies to Rutgers, he will find out pretty quickly. But, we really need at least one if not two others because I don’t think he will be happy there. As far as Michigan, I agree that it is not a for sure safety school. But, from our public hs almost every kid with his stats was accepted and as a double legacy that should also help. So, not a safety but likely. So, back to the search for safeties!! He is still considering Northeastern or maybe BU as well as Tulane. I also agree with the strategy of adding a few more matches so he has an even better chance of not needing to use his safeties. So for matches, maybe USC or Tufts? I worry about the whole Tufts syndrome thing though. </p>
<p>So to the group, do these all seem like matches?
Vanderbilt
Cornell
UVA
Michigan
USC
Tufts</p>
<p>How many matches do kids typically apply to?</p>
<p>For those that didn’t read the beginning, he has 2390 SAT superstore and 2370 in one sitting. Also 800 on SAT 2 Math and Physics and 770 in Biology. National Merit ( we assume since his score is way above cut off). Other typical honor society stuff plus lots of strong music ECs including all state for three years on an unusual instrument and drum major for next year. </p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>“I worry about the whole Tufts syndrome thing though.”</p>
<p>Be aware that “Tufts syndrome” really does not exist at its namesake school! The top kids from my D’s high school with Ivy/ top 20 qualifications and aspirations are consistently accepted to Tufts to no lesser a degree than lower-ranked kids. </p>
<p>Demonstrated interest is probably expected at any number of colleges on your son’s list. Let him get enthused about each school’s “admissions ethos” and steer each application effectively—and genuinely.</p>
<p>My D actually enjoyed her Tufts application process, as their admissions blog and team are a cut above. And she loved writing her Tufts prompts, too. </p>
<p>From my analysis of the data at our high school there is no such thing as Tufts syndrome. The real problem at Tufts is that they are selective, but also willing to accept diamond in the rough type kids, so high stats are not a guarantee. They are looking for students who fit with their idea of a Tufts student. That means kids who are engaged in the world, who believe in active citizenship and perhaps a bias towards doing things now instead of engaging intellectually first before going out in the world. More than many places they really are looking for fit - and they will reach into the B+ students with potential meaning that not every A+ student will get accepted. (My son a B+/A- diamond-in-the-rough type loved the Tufts prompts and actually put off sending the Tufts application in so he could spend more time on his essays for them.)</p>
<p>Quick google search came up with the following acceptance rates:</p>
<p>Vanderbilt: 12.7 %
Cornell: 14%
UVA: 24%
Michigan: 37%
USC: 20%
Tufts: 21%
Northeastern: 32%
Tulane: 26%</p>
<p>Vanderbilt, Cornell, UVA, USC and Tufts are reaches for everyone (except for clearly hooked kids or academic prodigies). I wouldn’t consider any of those five matches. The issue with Tufts is not “Tufts syndrome.” It’s that Tufts is very hard to get into – 80% of the applicants are denied. </p>
<p>Northeastern and Tulane might be considered matches by some, but I’m very conservative when it comes to college admissions, and I would not feel comfortable calling those matches – and I most certainly would not consider either of them a safety. </p>
<p>I would consider Michigan a match only because of the double legacy advantage. </p>
<p>If your son would not be happy at Rutgers, then it’s not a good safety. He either needs to figure out how to love it, or he needs to find another school that is a guaranteed acceptance that he will be happy to attend. Every April, there are always high stat kids posting on CC about how they have to go to the safety they don’t want to go to. We never want to think that could be our kid facing that situation, but the only way to ensure that is to be realistic in making up the college list. </p>
<p>As suggested up thread, what about the University of Rochester? Great music, strong science and engineering, serious, high stats student body, but still probably a safety for your S.</p>
<p>Miami of Ohio…</p>