<p>After much research and an East/Coast college tour over Spring Break, my D is sure that Brown is a great fit. Were hopeful that the admissions people will agree, but just in case </p>
<p>For those of you who absolutely knew the fit was right for at Brown, what were your Safety schools?</p>
<p>I applied early to Brown and got in early, but it was early action at the time, so I also applied to the following schools (some of which were safety, others not):</p>
<p>Cornell, Duke, Tufts, Harvard, Tulane, Brandeis, UVA, Vassar</p>
<p>Of those schools, I think the ones I would have been most compatible for in ways similar to Brown are Vassar and Tufts (location and/or mindset/general feel). In ways different from Brown, I think I would have found my way nicely at Duke too, with its spirited population and stunning campus and active campus life. Unfortunately, a lot has changed and I don't think any of these are considered safety schools anymore (not that they were totally safe for me, but I think I had a bit of an easier time 5 years ago than applicants do now).</p>
<p>Other schools with similar curricular strucutures (or lack thereof): Vassar, Hampshire, Oberlin, Wesleyan, NYU?</p>
<p>Safe(r) schools I'd apply to if I had to do it again: U. Wisconsin, U. Mich, Bates, Vassar, Wesleyan, Barnard, NYU, GW. But really, nothing's a safe bet anymore, and I wouldn't even call half of these safety schools--just safer than Brown statistically.</p>
<p>My safety school was Grinnell, but I only considered it safe after they flew me out in November, which I took as a sign that they would accept me. My real safety school was whichever offered the best deal to NM finalists. Grinnell is pretty similar though, although much smaller and more rural.</p>
<p>Just to name three. Safety is an odd term but I think you may be asking schools similar to Brown with higher % of admitted applicants. None of these are "safety" in the way your local state school would be.</p>
<p>I applied to bowdoin, macalester, and colby as well, for "safer" bets. However, don't rely on pure stats of acceptance b/c I thought grinnell was a safety school for me and I was actually rejected, though I did get into Brown. The admissions process remains an enigma, so just don't worry too much.</p>
<p>I got into all of my "safety" schools. These included the Univ of Michigan, NYU, Rochester, Wisconsin, these are great "safeties" for kids that have like 1400+ and like 95 averages.</p>
<p>I think that Wesleyan, Vassar, Oberlin, Tufts, University of Rochester, New College of Florida, Reed, Skidmore, and Sarah Lawrence are safer schools that are similar to Brown in some (but not all) ways. </p>
<p>Wesleyan and Vassar (to which I also applied and was accepted to and nearly chose to attend) are safer in that they are slightly easier to get into, but they certainly wouldn't be safety schools. They accept about 30% of their applicants and have 1400 SAT averages, making them easier than Brown but certainly not sure bets. I met a few kids at Brown who got into Brown but not Wesleyan or Vassar, so it does happen from time to time. </p>
<p>Oberlin and Tuft would be a bit safer. </p>
<p>Rochester, Reed, and New College would be a bit safer, probably good enough for a safety. </p>
<p>Skidmore and Sarah Lawrence would be good safeties.</p>
<p>The idea of what constitutes a match or safety school is relative to each individual. It would be hard to say which schools would be safeties for the OP's daughter but if Brown is in consideration, I will make some assumptions as to qualifications, etc. A lot of the schools being mentioned on this thread are not what I would call safeties for bright students (or Brown applicants);rather many appear to be more of match schools, in my opinion. I cannot imagine, for example, calling Tufts a safety for anyone. A school with a 25% admit rate is not that "safe". It is often a match school for someone with stats that qualify for Brown, however. I know someone who got into Brown but not Tufts (not talking of my own kid who got into both). I agree with the idea of Skidmore or Sarah Lawrence as safeties for someone qualified for Brown. </p>
<p>But since the poster asked where were your safeties....I will respond as a parent of a student who just finished her first year at Brown and loves it. </p>
<p>The schools she applied to were:
Yale
Princeton
Brown
UPenn
Tufts
Smith
Conn College
Lehigh</p>
<p>The safeties for her were Conn College and Lehigh. She actually also had a full ride at UVM but had not otherwise intended to apply there but you could say she already knew she was in there but had made this list to have safety schools she was more interested in, as she would not have gone to UVM. Remember, it is important to LIKE your safety schools. Also, make sure to have a list of match/ballpark schools as those are the ones more likely that will be ones you might decide between in April, because certain reach schools like Brown, cannot be counted on by anyone when the admit rate is very low and the odds become unpredictable as very qualified students are still turned away. Reach schools are ones you have a chance at if you belong in the pool of those under consideration, but the chances are slim so that is why match schools are the more realistic ones on the list. Safeties are truly important however. I still get real worried when I see some kids' lists on here full of reach schools and maybe some matches but no safeties. Not a game I'd want my kid to play and believe me, she was qualified for any of her schools. Love thy safeties (and matches). </p>
<p>Susan</p>
<p>I applied to Brown and used Lafayette, Bucknell, and Colby as safeties.</p>
<p>A word of caution: some of the schools mentioned here really cannot be thought of as safeties in the traditional sense, since they have only marginally lower stats than Brown and are just as much of a crapshot to get in. It is best to look up each school individually. Any school that rejects more than 3/4 of their applicant pool really aren't safeties for anyone.</p>
<p>Thanks to all for your input. From your posts, I can see that I should have been more specific.</p>
<p>Hazmat is right about what Im trying to get at. Schools similar to Brown with higher admit rate. The similar to Brown is the part thats proving a challenge. (All you Brownies know that already because there is no place like Brown, right?) I dont want to be or appear overconfident, but D has a URM enhanced chance of getting into most of her choice schools, even the highly selective ones. The U of California system will certainly be her absolute safeties, but as Soozievt says Love thy safeties. I know we can find some better fit schools as backup. By better fit I mean Brownlike. Im not sure exactly what that means but I think some components are East Coast, open/flex curriculum, passionate/supportive profs, open-minded, friendly, intelligent-but-not full-of-themselves students and not so horrible weather. Heres the list of your suggestions and there are a few that we have not really looked closely at, so thank you for you input. </p>
<p>Barnard
Bates
Bowdoin
Brandeis
Bucknell
Colby
Conn College
Grinnell
Hampshire
Lafayette
Lehigh
NYU
Oberlin
Sarah Lawrence
Skidmore
Tufts Vassar
Wesleyan</p>
<p>Let me just clarify--I completely agree with soozievt that Tufts and some others in this discussion are not considered safeties for everyone. Certainly I would not presume to think that Tufts was a safety for me, even 5 years ago when admission was a good bit different than it is now. Rather, I was just listing the schools that I applied to other than Brown, and conceded that several of them were by no means safeties. That said, I figured may as well mention it because there's no harm in applying to a few reach schools if they seem like the right fit! :)</p>
<p>In any discussion of Brown one must inquire of you......how significant an issue is the core curriculum? It would be hard to compare say Barnard::Brown from that point of view. Atmosphere alone is easier to compare but many folks think the ecclectic student at Brown is attracted by the absence of core.</p>
<p>I agree that the curricular mindsets differ greatly; for me, the attraction to some of the city schools I mentioned including Barnard was the wealth of cultural resources and opportunities for growth and learning because of their location. For me personally, that attracts me in a similar way to the wealth of options provided by the new curric at Brown.</p>
<p>As to cultural experience I understand. What I am referring to is the Requirement for degree, the required courses you must complete. Very different at Brown compared to say Columbia. As long as you understand that it is all personal preference.</p>
<p>By definition, a safety will be a school you're less interested than others. In my judgement, i had 4 reaches, 2 mathes and 2 safeties, which ended up fairly neat.</p>
<p>I got into 5/8, but gave any thought to only 2 of them, so don't apply to 10 schools just to have a lot of safeties and never consider enrolling.</p>
<p>Choice is good, which is why you wanna have a larger variety of match/reach schools. One or two safeties is more than you need; chances are you'll get into a match/reach school if you have enough of them. It worked for me.</p>
<p>My personal objective was to apply to a "safety" if and only if I could matriculate there and be happy....so if one is looking at a metro area look at schools whose admit stats are more and less strident. You must keep in mind that on any given adcom cycle your chosen "safety" school may be flooded with applicants and thus no longer fit the ease of admit you had planned on. Don't apply to ANY school you cannot imagine yourself making a happy experience. There are way to many fun cities or towns and schools to choose a place you wouldn't go to.</p>
<p>I disagree with the comparisons that were commonly made in these responses so far. Most of these schools cannot be compared to Brown simply because the schools have some vague similarities in cirriculum or principles, etc. A lot of these schools, those LACs, Tufts, are in such remote locations that it fosters a dramatically different lifestyle for the students. For other schools like NYU, obviously Providence is no NYC. Brown is placed in such a unique environment, and such an environment can really help to shape the character of the students, that I would hold it above all other examples listed by a wide margin. If nothing matters to you but remaining on campus and studying, then this might not affect your opinions.</p>
<p>Grinnell is in fact very generous with aid and expenses, since they are very wealthy, but still cannot attract a relatively large applicant pool. That says something about the significance of location. I still think very highly of Grinnell, though (I applied).</p>
<p>Tufts isn't remote. It's right outside Boston.</p>
<p>And please, you can't just apply to Brown. I think we all agree it's the best (:)) but you have to have other options. And who's to say that the Brown way is the only way?</p>
<p>You don't have to only apply to Brown. All I said was just to not expect anything like what you would receive at Brown elsewhere.</p>
<p>Tufts is remote. It's technically right outside of Boston... but seriously, some people consider most of Eastern MA to be Boston. There is public transportation but still, not instant access to civilization when you step outside. Brown is a ten minute walk from the center of Providence. It is literally surrounded by activity, though not in the overwhelming Manhattan way. Tufts, you get suburban residential zones.</p>
<p>I suppose. I dunno, I always counted as Tufts as somewhat urban...</p>
<p>But yeah, there's no place like Brown! <em>clicks ruby slippers</em></p>