<p>Safety schools are the only ones you should be expecting to get into. Matches you should know there is a chance, but never certain. Reaches you should never expect to get into, even if you go by the mantra of “apply to 10 reach schools and chances are you’ll get into a few”. Now I applied to many reach schools, but I had comparitively better GPA, rigor, and test scores than you but I was never expecting to get into any of them. I was rejected by 3 of my reach schools, and waitlisted at 3 reach, 1 match and accepted at 3 reach, 1 match, and 4 safeties. So I had more safeties and less reaches. I am glad you are passing on your experience, and hopefully it will help other applicants notice the type of school lists they should have. I hope you chose St. Olaf, it looks like an awesome school! And don’t be down about where you didn’t get in, be excited for where you were!</p>