<p>Our high school guidance office does not use the word "match" for the middle category of safety/match/reach. Rather, they call this category your "50/50" chance category - highlighting the, imo, correct perspective that "match" does NOT equal sure thing. I think all of us here on cc know that, yet there is a tendency to think of "match" as highly likely.</p>
<p>Long way of saying, I think that the scenario you describe, tom1944, puts the school correctly in the "50/50" category - not a reach, not a safety. The notion is - apply to a few of these 50/50 schools and you should get into half of them, or better.</p>
<p>Another way of looking at it is, what category would a school be if the student fits its admit profile and/but has a 1200 SAT when the 25%-75% range is 1190-13xx? AND - critical piece of information - the school has an admit rate >50%. It wouldn't be a Safety, imo. And it wouldn't be a Reach. What's left is "50/50 chance", or Match.</p>