<p>I agree with Weskid, but the whole reach-match-safety construct isn’t very useful for the kinds of students who are legitimate HYP-etc. candidates. All of their “matches” are “reaches”, and generally they are very strong candidates for admission at schools that aren’t classic safeties at all. That doesn’t mean they don’t need a real safety, but I can honestly say that I haven’t seen many students like that attending their safety because it was their only choice, unless they consciously adopted an all-or-nothing application strategy.</p>
<p>Michigan is apparently abandoning rolling admissions for an ED/RD structure next year. Which will make it a LOT less popular with great students applying SCEA to Yale or Stanford. I actually think that’s too bad, and that Michigan will miss out on some great people because of it, although it’s yields will go way up.</p>
<p>McGill and Toronto, by the way, ARE real safeties for top students. Admission there is completely numbers-based – no essays, although you may have to write one to get a (rare) merit scholarship or special program. And they are bona fide world-class institutions, topping several Ivies in the QS and Shanghai rankings.</p>