<p>How many reaches, matches, and safeties did you guys have when you applied? Did you find your combination of reaches/matches/safeties as an effective strategy for applying to colleges? If not, what would you have changed about it?</p>
<p>List your reach/match/safety combo (example: 4 Reaches, 3 Matches, 4 Safeties)</p>
<p>I recommend 5 reaches, 3 matches, 2 safeties, or proportions similar to these. At least half should be reaches.</p>
<p>Apply to very few safties, because a safety is defined as a dump school. There's no need to apply to too many schools that have a 99% chance of accepting you. For example, a 4.0 1500SATI student needn't apply to San Jose State, Chico State, and SD State. Safties are almost like insurance. There's no need to waste all your money on insurance.
I'd recommend 2 safties (one very low, and one slightly higher), 3 matches, and 6-7 reaches. It's really a battle to get the reach schools, and you should only focus on them.</p>
<p>The safety is the most important school on the list. You have to feel that you would be comfortable there, get a good education, are sure to get in, and are certain to be able to afford it. It has to meet all four characteristics, or it isn't a safety.</p>
<p>Focus more energy on finding your safety than anywhere else. Then, anything else that happens is a bonus.</p>
<p>Er, not every state is like California. UNC-CH is pretty much a safety for most people in-state with good grades/SATs, but it is also a good school; NC State would be considered more of a true safety, and although it isn't on the same level as UNC (except for engineering obviously, which UNC lacks completely) it isn't exactly a bad school.</p>
<p>As for me, I plan on applying to 3 reaches (one ED), 2 matches, and 1 safety early. Depending on how that plays out I may or may not apply to more schools RD.</p>
<p>Apply to 12-13 schools? Couldn't that run upwards of $600?</p>
<p>Very easily. But if you get in to one of those 8-9 reaches then the $600 spent isn't going to seem that much when you look at actual college tuition, and will be fully worth it.</p>
<p>I think people apply to way to many safeties. Spend alot of time on finding one or maybe two safeties. Then make sure you apply to at least four matches and four reaches of varying degrees. Mistake #1 I have seen by so many people on CC is applying to superreaches and safeties but no matches.</p>
<p>I agree with you slipper. Personally, students should apply to 2 super reaches, 2 reaches, 4 matches and 2 safeties.</p>
<p>I agree with mini, the search for a safety that you would be happy to attend is the most important school on your list. It requires the most work and the most discipline for most students.</p>
<p>You need to find the place that is great for you but hasn't been "discovered" by too many people yet or it would be as selective as your reaches. To accomplish this you need to know yourself, understand what strengths a college has for you, and a willingness to dig a little deeper into the college.</p>
<p>Too many people look upon the task of picking a safety as picking the throw away school. The school you could be stuck with if you don't get accepted where you want to go. It needn't (and shouldn't)be that way, your safety school (academic and financial) could be a school that is about to break out of the void because of a new administration, new facilities or prehaps it is a school that just needs a few more students like you. It could be a high quality, smaller school that just isn't well known. It shouldn't be just an easy school to get into.</p>
<p>In California, any student applying to the UCs has a safety school built into the community college system, but if you put in the time and effort you might find a different choice or you might realize why the community college is a good choice for you.</p>
<p>Once you have a safety, you could look for other schools that might better meet your needs, these can be the ones you have a good shot at attending or a chance depending how they balance the parts of your application. Reach and match schools can blend because you might meet all the criteria of the schools existing students and still not get in. A match is not a safety and it would be possible for someone to have only safeties, if these were the schools that met their needs.</p>
<p>Also, apply to the rolling schools if you like them. Its a little hidden strategy that eliminates the need for safeties. Getting into Michigan in October made it alot easier to focus on my reaches.</p>
<p>Slipper is right about rolling admission schools, they take the pressure off.</p>
<p>"Very easily. But if you get in to one of those 8-9 reaches then the $600 spent isn't going to seem that much when you look at actual college tuition, and will be fully worth it."</p>
<p>So just because you're going to be in debt anyways, you should eat lobster at every meal?</p>
<p>Ummm...no</p>
<p>The difference between 7 applications (500) and 11 is 280 bucks. Even just getting a couple financial aid offers to consider could be worth fifty times this.</p>
<p>280 bucks will wash out in life to be nothing. Going to the right school could be one of the most beneficial and formative experiences of your life.</p>
<p>Agree with the comments re: the importance of safeties you will be happy with and applying to two of them....we know kids who were shut out as their matches didn't pan out...rolling admission also a great suggestion.</p>
<p>6 reaches/ 4 matches/ 2 safeties</p>
<p>Twelve schools?</p>
<p>yeah, and that's after i cut it down by removing 2 reaches</p>
<p>Utter madness, I dare say.</p>
<p>"Ummm...no</p>
<p>The difference between 7 applications (500) and 11 is 280 bucks. Even just getting a couple financial aid offers to consider could be worth fifty times this.</p>
<p>280 bucks will wash out in life to be nothing. Going to the right school could be one of the most beneficial and formative experiences of your life."</p>
<p>I guess I'm just not used to people having to apply to a number of schools expecting NOT to get in. Just sort of a different world I guess. I still think applying to 12 schools versus applying to 5 is more a matter of research, but if you aren't expecting to get into half, then maybe it makes more sense... a little easier to justify the cost. :-/</p>