Let me just get this out there- I don’t really like the idea of a “safety” school, as it usually comes with the mentality of thinking you are too good for said school. However, as application season started, I realized that many of the colleges on my list were quite selective. If all else fails, I would like to have at least one or two schools that I have a high chance of being admitted to. The only problem is that I’ve noticed that many of these universities have weak science and/or engineering programs. Can anyone suggest a few less-competitive schools for me?
-Strong science program (A strong engineering program would be great too.)
-Preferably located in New England, New Jersey, or Pennsylvania
-Not in the center of a huge city (I don’t love the feel of NYC or Philadelphia)
-Acceptance rate greater than 50%
What characteristics make your match schools good fits for you? You need to find similarly good fits for your “likelies”.
How much can your parents afford?
“Science” is pretty broad. Especially if you are looking at smaller schools, you might want to think about what aspect of science you are interested in. And to me at least, engineering is not at all the same as science. Usually a state flagship can function for most people as their “science safety”.
A school that you are reasonably sure that you will get into, given your stats and the school’s acceptance rates and class profile;
A school that your family can afford; and
A school that you would be happy to attend, if you don’t get into any of your higher-choice schools or don’t receive enough money to attend them.
3 is really important but something that a lot of seniors leave out when they're applying. They don't take the time to really investigate and fall in love with their safety schools just as much as their reach and match schools.