<p>Is it safe to have only one safety school? I am apply to 8 schools in total, three mid-high reaches (Georgetown, Boston College, Wash U. St Louis), four matches (Wake Forest, William and Mary, Villanova and maybe George Washington) and one safety (UNC Chapel Hill - in state). I figure that it is a probability thing - if I apply to 4-5 schools that I am qualified to get into, I am likely to get into at least one. Is this an accurate statement? Should I be applying to another safety? </p>
<p>IMHO: A safety school should be a slam dunk – a school that you have a great chance of being admitted to. For instate students, UNC has a 51% acceptance rate (<a href=“Our Newest Class - Undergraduate Admissions”>http://admissions.unc.edu/apply/class-profile</a>) – that’s not really a slam drunk. What other state schools in NC would you consider attending if no other college on your list accepted you?</p>
<p>@gibby The only reason why I say UNC would be a safety is because my private school is a bit of a funnel school. 40 out of 100 students in the graduating senior class were accepted there (73% of those who applied were accepted). Considering that I am in the top 10% (Cum Laude), I would say I have a good chance, but I am also considering Clemson as a safety. Would it be smart to apply there also and maybe get into the honors program? </p>
<p>Yeah – I’d make Clemson the safety instead of UNC. UNC might be a low match for you, but it’s no safety, IMO.</p>
<p>It’s a probability thing and a financial thing. If you can afford the admission safety then it is a true safety.</p>
<p>@erinsdad I will not be receiving financial aid if that makes a difference. </p>
<p>
What state do you live in? Does your family live in SC, but you attend a NC boarding school? That’s the only way applying to Clemson as a safety would make sense, because OOS acceptance rates at Clemson are lower than instate acceptance rates at UNC.</p>
<p>I live in NC. If that is true, then yes, that’s a good point. Could you tell me what the out of state acceptance rate at Clemson is? Also, if that isn’t a feasible option, what are some schools with strong undergraduate business programs? </p>
<p><a href=“http://www.clemson.edu/admissions/undergraduate/documents/guidance-report.pdf”>http://www.clemson.edu/admissions/undergraduate/documents/guidance-report.pdf</a>
For NC residents, the acceptance rate at Clemson = 18.12% (242 divided by 1335 – see page 6)</p>
<p>Very few colleges offer an undergraduate degree in business, among them in no particular order are: UPenn Wharton, UCLA Berkeley, Washington and Lee University, University of Virginia, Babson, Rutgers, Boston College, and New York University. Most colleges grant a liberal arts degree; students interested in business major in something business related like Econ. </p>
<p>Ask yourself what you would do if you didn’t get accepted to any of your schools. Would you take a gap year, would you scramble to find another school? If you applied to all your listed schools plus one more absolute, sure fire acceptance safety, would you go to that school? If not, it’s not really a safety.</p>
<p>I’d find one school that has a rolling admission, apply early, and that can be your safety.</p>
<p>For an additional NC in-state safety school, look at some of lesser known names on this list: <a href=“Top-Ranked Higher Education in North Carolina”>http://collegeapps.about.com/od/collegerankings/tp/top-north-carolina-colleges.htm</a></p>
<p>@gibby Thank you for the Clemson chart! But I will have to disagree with the acceptance rate value. You took the percent of North Carolina student in the 2012 freshmen class (242 - a number lower than acceptance due to matriculation) and divided it by the total number of out of state freshmen attending in 2012 (1335), not the total number of students who applied to Clemson from North Carolina. Hope this helps with future reference! </p>
<p>^^ Sorry, you are correct. But, even with the additional students that were accepted that didn’t matriculate, I stand by my point: Clemson IS NOT a safety school for you. A true safety school should have an acceptance rate somewhere between 65% and 95% – and you don’t have any of those schools on your list.</p>
<p>@Gibbby With all due respect, a safety school is completely relative to the student. If a student applies to Harvard, Yale, and Columbia then he/she isn’t going to be applying to a 65% acceptance rate as their safety school. In my case, however, I would agree that an acceptance rate near 50% to 70% is necessary (which is where Clemson falls). Thanks! </p>
<p>Overall acceptance rate is a silly metric to use. It is much more sensible to look at your stats relative to the typical stats of the school. (you can’t really do this for the most selective schools, since even having perfect stats isn’t a guarantee of acceptance). If your stats are better than 75% of the school, it moves into the “safety” region, but still, is not a slam dunk if you don’t do your homework and craft a good application. </p>
<p>And if you have Naviance, please use it. It is really enlightening, because it shows you the proportion of people more or less like you who were accepted vs denied. We double checked our safeties using it and it reassured us. And was correct. </p>
<p>@jamoroso: FWIW: My daughter is at Harvard and my son is at Yale, so I understand a little bit about how selective college admissions work and the total unpredictability of what might happen. Even though my kids applied to HYP, they also applied to an in state school with 65+% acceptance rates because we have seen other students get rejected from all the colleges on their list, including what they thought was their safety school. I hope that doesn’t happen to you. Best of luck!</p>