I would argue that while you don’t have any 100% guarantees on your list, you do have “safeties” although not safeties in the pure sense. btw - no combination of “matches” = a safety.
For your son, Holy Cross is probably and Trinity is close to a safety.
For your daughter, U Wisconsin is a safety.
Here’s the thing - for those who get “shut out” - there are always still schools you can get into late - and some with big merit aid - Alabama and Arizona are two - but there’s a list of schools published each year looking for more students post May 1 (you won’t like the list tho).
I would personally add a true safety to your son’s list - but I imagine both kids will be in to schools on the list - how many, I can’t say because admissions is more than stats and while theirs are great, they’re competing with every smart kid in America.
ps - I do worry that you have Wisconsin and Washington for your daughter - just size wise vs. others. Even BU is larger. They don’t necessarily fit. And not sure which kid is worried about politics - but IU is liberal slanted for sure as is Bloomington (but not the state) and Holy Cross would be on the other side. For your daughter, take a look at Syracuse Newhouse school.
Recipe for a very tense senior year. Yes, likely to get in some schools on this list but will be tense waiting. I would add in UBC-Vancover, Victoria, or McGill. Also both should appy to one UC they will be admitted to regardless.
Many of the LACs ranked 10-50 have unrestricted EA with admission in December. Allowed to be used with ED as long as an ED admission is immediately turned into withdrawal of all active apps (even the ones that are about to give results).
I agree completely with your comments! The EA deferrals are shocking this year at our school - my own D applied REA&EA to 8 schools and was deferred 5 times to some “safeties, targets and reaches”. She was accepted with amazing merit at 3 safeties so far and no rejections. I might have more advice in a few weeks when she hears again from the deferrals again and her RD list, but you have to assume that most everyone has high stats now and all the other items on EC list, etc. and that it is more of a lottery for highly selective schools - the number of highly qualified applicants is just overwhelming and you never know what will appeal to one Admin Com vs. another.
Your kids seem great and have so much going for them! I would recommend ED to Wake very early in August/September as they have rolling ED and I was surprised at kids who got in ED early on vs. kids who didn’t get in ED closer to Nov 1. I would also consider ED to Emory.
No she wants a double major is QMSS and may want to pursue a Ph.D. Emerson just isn’t a good choice if she goes that path rather than the film industry path.
She is looking at all sizes that match her academic interests. No issues with larger schools for her. D is very liberal. S more mixed/moderate (he’s the Holy Cross kid). Thanks for the note about IUB.
As others have noted you need a Safety. Especially after the last two years of admissions.
For Film DePaul as mentioned would be a true safety with excellent Film School
FSU excellent Film School Definitely a safety if your were instate but with Her stats should still be a safety.
Econ S23
FSU with same caveat as for D23, Michigan State safety, both in State capitals for internship opportunities as well
But where ever they apply to as a safety make sure its somewhere they would be happy attending
For S21 his safeties included IOWA and DePaul and both give merit aid and were in the running till the end
IOWA Auto Admits to College of Liberal Arts. So its a yes he knows he has a spot
There is some very wise advice here. That list looks tough.
I am not going to pry as to why D and S aren’t interested in CA schools (whether UC etc), but isn’t that a MUCH better financial deal than OOS at Wisconsin, for example? Having just done a tour of several Cal state and private schools with my Ds, there are some fantastic schools/campuses in CA.
Here is the thing. They also have a (not insignificant) chance of not getting into any of them. What are your plans if that happens? Are you willing to take that chance? They are both excellent students who will be competing with 10’s of thousands of other excellent students and most of the schools mentioned have been seeing higher and higher numbers of applicants. Good luck.
This is why several mentioned Arizona. When you have a 4.0 (they don’t look at test), if the $35K merit holds up - tuition is $3K a year.
They’re known for having a strong film school - and you can get quant in social sciences most anywhere - even if it’s not a defined major everywhere.
And it’s a safety.
But if OP isn’t concerned with finances - and I’m not trying to be snarky here, but maybe saving $150K over Wisconsin or $250K over a Wesleyan isn’t what their goal is.
I personally agree - but we all put different values on things and their values in that regard are clearly different and that’s ok as long as it can be paid for.
Just to point out that the OP specifically stated that his kids weren’t interested in UC schools. That leaves a ton of other schools in California. If I misread that, and this means all California schools, my point is hereby withdrawn.
The only reason I raise the financial aspects is that, in a subsequent post, the OP mentioned that some schools aren’t worth, for example, $80,000. It’s just that I’ve recently come from a great California road trip with my Ds where we saw UCs, Cal Polys, and privates.
There’s just a tremendous choice here. But, tain’t none of my business, is it? (said with my tongue firmly in cheek)
However, in all seriousness, I very much do agree with @roycroftmom: both D and S have some super-reach to reach/target schools. A safety is just that: a safety. I don’t know enough about some of the schools to say whether they are essentially automatic admits for D&S. What I do know for a fact is that there are a ton of schools in CA that are not UCs that could be a good safety. And San Diego is very different from Los Angeles which is very different from SLO which is very different from Berkeley which is very different from San Francisco which is very different from Palo Alto etc etc. It’s a very big state with an enormous number of superb schools. If California schools (as opposed to UCs) are ruled out, fine
So to answer the OP’s question: yes, it is a risky list, IMHO. D & S have done some fine work, so I would recommend spreading the net a bit wider. There are good ideas here in this thread, but California has some great ones too.
I would look at this thread. It it is a high stat in state that got denied at their state flagship. It is all about how much risk are you willing to take. I think the cost is so low to have a “if the wheels fall off” safety, it is a bad idea to not have one. My DS had a simple app at a rolling admission school. No risk after October.
They have seen many CA colleges, both public and private. Older D applied to Occidental (accepted with merit). These two just want to get out of CA and have a different experience. D22 hasn’t totally written off UC Berkeley but it’s hardly a safety. And that’s what we’re really looking for right now.
Two pieces of wisdom that I have gotten in the past several years of college apps with multiple kids are 1. Build a college list from the bottom up, and 2. Learn to love your likely.
As others have said, their lists may not spell disaster, but may well create a tense and angst-ridden senior year waiting for an acceptance.
The key is not only having schools on the list where your kids will most likely get admitted, but will also be happy to attend…bonus points if the schools issue an answer early so that your kids can relax.
Sometimes it takes an attitude change to get to that point. Motivated and successful kids are programmed to believe that they need to and are entitled to attend the most selective school where they get admitted. Taking some time, researching, and especially touring likely/safety schools helps families to realize that almost all schools can offer incredible opportunities, resources, and overal experiences.
Your kids may both get into an ED school and you will be in the lucky position of thinking we are all naysayers. But I could also envision a situation with these lists where they are deferred/rejected from their ED school, deferred in EA from somewhere like Michigan that postpones most OOS decisions, especially coming from an over represented state like California, and then they are left in limbo and anxious until the end of senior year.
For practical reasons and for your own peace of mind, I would look to add some true likely schools to both lists…and get them excited about those opportunities.
After reading this post, OP might also want to consider this pernicious thing called “yield”.
Check very carefully if the schools D&S are applying to are conscious of their yield. Make sure that the schools that they are considering safeties don’t backfire because they are hyper-conscious about yield. In other words, they assume your kids won’t go there because they assume they will go somewhere else that’s “better” given their respective stats.
