Safeties, Please

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Hi all,</p>

<p>I'm in the process of compiling a list of colleges to apply to, and I'm in need of safety schools. I'm really at the point where top tier schools are in my range, but because there are so many applicants for each school, they automatically become reaches because of their low acceptance rates. So, I don't want to shoot too low for safeties, but I don't want to incorrectly assume a more selective school would accept me. Can anyone spare some advice?</p>

<p>Stats:
780 CR
760 W
740 M</p>

<p>Results pending for SAT US History, Lit, and French, but scores are predicted to pretty well match the CR, W, and M.</p>

<p>4.0 unweighted GPA
4.9 weighted GPA</p>

<p>many extracurriculars, 5 national honor societies, leadership positions in clubs, volunteering, a job, summer programs at US universities and in europe and china....</p>

<p>I want to go into International Relations and PolySci, so I want a school with a strong political science and pre-law program and preferably an international relations or international studies major.....</p>

<p>Thanks so much!</p>

2

<p>Middlebury has both international studies and International Politics and Economics coupled with their amazing language programs. You would be above the median SAT but it doesn’t qualify as a safety. The same would be true for Hopkins which you might want to consider. For safeties maybe George Washington and macalaster depending on the size you want. (both known for international affairs).</p>

3

<p>You can consider Boston University as a safety.</p>

4

<p>How about Trinity College in Hartford?</p>

5

<p>What kind of environment are you looking for? A LAC? A mid-sized private? Urban/rural/suburban? What part of the country? Do you need financial aid? There are dozens of schools that would be excellent safeties, so we need a bit more info to give you good suggestions.</p>

6

<p>BU, Northeastern, Bentley, Trinity, Syracuse, NYU</p>

7

<p>Like M’s mom said . . what KINDS of schools are appealing to you? Small less than 1500 students? In a large city? Do your safeties also need to be Finanacial Aid Safety Schools?</p>

<p>American
Gettysburg
Skidmore
UVM
Colorado
Tufts
McGilll<br>
Penn State<br>
U Delaware
Macalester<br>
Quinnipiac<br>
Michigan State<br>
SF State<br>
U Richmond<br>
The OSU-Columbus<br>
U Rochester</p>

8

<p>Where are you a resident of, and how important are financial constraints?</p>

<p>A safety school must fulfill all of the following:</p>

<p>a. You are very likely to get admitted.
b. You can afford the net cost after non-loan financial aid.
c. You are willing to attend.</p>

<p>Note that there is no specific major for pre-law. Major in what you want, then take the LSAT and apply to law school if your grades and LSAT scores make that a realistic chance.</p>

9

<p>I want to go into International Relations and PolySci, so I want a school with a strong political science and pre-law program and preferably an international relations or international studies major…</p>

<p>What state are you in?</p>

<p>With your stats, you can get into many, many safety schools…HOWEVER…</p>

<p>How much will your parents pay each year?</p>

<p>**If your parents can’t pay for any school that you want, then you have to VERY CAREFULLY choose safety schools since most do NOT give much aid. ** Some give big scholarships, but many do not…hence the need to carefully choose if money is a concern.</p>

<p>And, yes, you must like the school. A school isn’t a financial safety if you don’t like it.</p>

<p>Are you a likely NMSF? What was your PSAT?</p>

10

<p>Miami Univ. in Ohio, U of Wisconsin, George Washington U., U. of Toronto.</p>

11

<p>If money is an issue for you, here is one place to start looking for the kind of scholarship money you might need: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/848226-important-links-automatic-guaranteed-merit-scholarships.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/848226-important-links-automatic-guaranteed-merit-scholarships.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

12

<p>I’d put Middlebury, Cornell, Brown, and Tufts in your “will get in depending on how the college gods feel today” pile. </p>

<p>To have some true safeties, you should think about what would make you happy in terms of location, class size, and region of the US. And, of course, finances!!</p>

<p>Could you share some of your top picks so we can get a sense of what you like in schools?</p>

<p>Here are some ideas:<br>
-If you like Dartmouth, think about Trinity College or Lehigh as a safety (both give merit scholarships, as an added bonus!)
-If you like Cornell, think Hamilton, Syracuse, Ithaca
-If you like UPenn, think Fordham,
-If you like Georgetown, think Fairfield U (you could get a full ride), Fordham, BC (Not a safety, but a very-likely).
-If you like Stanford, think about Claremont or USC
-If you like MIT, think GA-tech, Harvey Mudd, Carnige Mellon</p>