<p>So I have a giant list of colleges on Cappex that seem great/alright. I'm going through the list and looking at their profile on College Board. At the bottom of most of the profiles there's a range of GPA's and the percent of first year students that had that GPA range. Like this: </p>
<p>16% had h.s. GPA of 3.75 and higher
26% had h.s. GPA between 3.5 and 3.74
23% had h.s. GPA between 3.25 and 3.49
17% had h.s. GPA between 3.0 and 3.24
18% had h.s. GPA between 2.5 and 2.99</p>
<p>For a 3.8 GPA, I'd want the percent to be fairly low to make it a safety for me? Or would the percentage need to be lower like 9% in order for it to be a safety and that 16% would be more like a match? And by match I mean strictly academically, I know that colleges take into consideration lots of other things.</p>
<p>The safest admission safeties are the ones which clearly state that a specific combination of grades and/or rank and/or test scores that you meet guarantees admission or a merit scholarship.</p>
<p>Examples would be Texas public universities’ automatic and assured admission for Texas public high school students with high enough rank or rank and test scores, or University of Alabama (Tuscaloosa, Birmingham, Huntsville) merit scholarships for meeting GPA and test score thresholds, or non-impacted California State Universities which admit those who meet the published GPA and test score threshold for eligibility (check your in-state public universities for similar policies). An open admission community college can also be a safety, but then you would have to apply to transfer two years later in order to go to a four year university to complete a bachelor’s degree.</p>
<p>Of course, a safety must also be affordable – check the “net price calculator” on each school’s web site. A safety must also be a school that you would like to attend. Your intended or possible major(s) can be an initial screen to determine academic fit at each school.</p>
<p>Be careful of schools which list “level of interest” as an admissions criterion – these schools may not like being used as safeties and may defer or waitlist high stats applicants because they believe that such applicants are unlikely to attend.</p>
<p>Once the financial question is answered we looked at GPA, class rank, scores, and % accepted. You could be in the top 25% for GPA and scores but if the school only accepts 10% of applicants it is a reach. Look for schools where your grades and scores are near the top and the % accepted is >55%.</p>