<p>I think the whole "reach" concept..... is a psychological illness.... which discourages teens from applying to schools they probably could get into. especially i have seen this all too many times: where teens w/ top SAT scores of 2100-2190 get told that all the ivies are reaches for them...and that if they have a 2190...it's not enough, they should retake for a little 10 point higher=2300..</p>
<p>what is wrong w/ ppl???/ do they love to shut down ppl's hopes and trick them???</p>
<p>what is a match??????? match should be based on the students interest, what they want ouut of college life, not their scores solely.</p>
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what is a match??????? match should be based on the students interest, what they want ouut of college life, not their scores solely.
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Where are these examples of matches based on scores? Even on ranking-obsessed CC, no one makes anyone apply to a college they don't like just because their scores line up. Matches are based on interests, not on scores. Where have you gathered that information?</p>
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I think the whole "reach" concept..... is a psychological illness.... which discourages teens from applying to schools they probably could get into. especially i have seen this all too many times: where teens w/ top SAT scores of 2100-2190 get told that all the ivies are reaches for them...and that if they have a 2190...it's not enough, they should retake for a little 10 point higher=2300..
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What the heck is wrong with a "reach" concept? It's real if you like it or not. Students with perfect scores are rejected in scads at those said "reach" schools. Admissions at those schools are a crapshoot whether or not you have a 2400 or 2390. You're basically saying no one should dream about attending a great, prestigious school.</p>
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what is wrong w/ ppl???/ do they love to shut down ppl's hopes and trick them???
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Where have you seen this? Where? I want examples if these accusations. You see, you aren't going to change the mindset of nearly every high school student in America by acting all morally indignant. Please, stay off CC if you think we're all lying, cheating, AP-shoving, prestige whores. We want to help each other, but if you don't agree with our approach, it's no use arguing.</p>
<p>By the way, small thing, 2190 plus 10 is 2200, not 2300.</p>
<p>(If you are more than 50-75 points above the 75th percentile, the school is too easy for you. Don't apply unless there is some extraordinary reason....like it won't cost you any money AND your girlfriend/boyfriend goes there AND you can carry on an intelligent conversation with yourself.)</p>
<p>safety: a school at which your SAT scores are above the 75th percentile for that school but are within 50-75 points of the 75th percentile. </p>
<p>match: a school at which your SAT score is between the 75th and 25th percentile for that school.</p>
<p>reach: a school at which your SAT scores are below the 25th percentile for that school but within 50-75 points of the 25th percentile. </p>
<p>(If your SATs are more than 50-75 points below the 25th percentile, your chances of getting in are very slim. You will need a "hook", like building a car that runs on water. Without a "hook", you probably shouldn't apply....but you never know.)</p>
<p>Dude, reach/match/safety is basically what their chances of getting into a school are - this classification doesn't pretend that the collleges which are "match" are the best for that student, just that they can gain admission to this school and it is likely that they will. </p>
<p>Its very useful for kids applying to top 25 schools.</p>
<p>Collegehelp, I think you're extroadinarily wrong. Certainly, SAT scores can help to identify schools that match a student's challenge level and can help measure the likelihood of getting in, but I do not see how performance on a test indicates whether a school is "easy" or "hard."</p>
<p>I'll use your own guidelines: I have a friend at Simmons College in Boston. Simmons is a small, all-women LAC smack dab in the middle of everything. When my friend visited Simmons, she loved it because it allowed her to double major in English and Education, she loved the people she met there, and she loved that the professors were interesting and engaged the students in everything from the Bible to Cornel West.</p>
<p>Simmons's 75th percentile is 1200/1600, my friend's SAT scores were 1500+. To say that she is not challenged by school would be a complete lie, considering that she and the other students take their schoolwork seriously, and that she challenges herself with outside commitments.</p>
<p>I think thethoughtprocess got it right--on chances threads, the student has already selected the schools they feel would be matches for their personality and interests, the posters are simply expressing the level of difficulty that student will have getting into those schools.</p>
<p>It has been said that CCers tend to err toward the side of caution in their chancing. You seem to see this as a bad thing. I certainly don't. It is very rare, in my experience, for a poster on CC to actively discourage someone from applying somewhere...even if they say it's a reach, you're still free to apply! I would much rather have people be pleasantly surprised when their results come in, than to mislead people into thinking they can get in places, and then have them be disappointed--or worse, optionless--when it's time to choose.
Also, students who get chanced have asked for it. They want to know. They're not interested in having people tell them lies.
And finally, there are some schools--pretty much all top ones--that people call a reach for pretty much everyone. You also seem to think this is a bad convention. I disagree with this also. People tend to distinguish between whether it's a "no way you can get in" reach, or a "reach because it's a reach for everyone" reach, making it clear to the poster that if it's the latter kind, they should still apply. Because at school where acceptance rathes are less than 20%, even down to 10%, essentially no one is guaranteed. True, unqualified people apply...but there are also thousands of applicants whose grades, scores, and ECs are within range, but who are rejected just because there isn't enough space. It would be totally misleading to say someone is a lock, even with a 2300+, 3.8+, and good ECs...I know plenty of people with those stats who have been rejected places.</p>
<p>The idea of match/reach/safety isn't a "psychological illness," it's simple truth.</p>
<p>Even when the admit rates are 33%, it means 2/3 of all applicants are rejected. That's a pretty big number! Needless to say, if one's academic numbers don't stack up very well against the accepted pool, one will most likely be part of the 2/3 rejected group.</p>
<p>And then at very selective schools that accept less than 20% of applicants, your numbers could look down on those of the average accepted applicant, but you'd still have a good chance of being rejected! Even if the percentage of accepted applicants with a somewhat superior academic numbers hit an acceptance rate of 30% (which according to CCers is extremely high, which strikes me as very odd), a 70% rejection probability given your SATs and rank is certainly not gambling odds!</p>
<p>Reach/Match/Safety are simply terms for assessing someones chances of getting in to a school. I don't see what the problem is. You want to replace it with AWESOME/GREAT/SUPERDUPER?</p>
<p>no.... i say that ppl should not be telling ppl what is a "reach".... when, they aren't a college admissions counselor, and they are just sore because they didn't get in.</p>
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safety: a school at which your SAT scores are above the 75th percentile for that school but are within 50-75 points of the 75th percentile.
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By this definition, Harvard is a safety for anybody who scores above a 2370 on the SATs, and a reach only if your score is below a 2080.</p>
<p>Oh, and it also means that I shouldn't apply to Brown if I score above a 2370 because the school is far too easy for me.</p>
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no.... i say that ppl should not be telling ppl what is a "reach".... when, they aren't a college admissions counselor, and they are just sore because they didn't get in.
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<p>If people didn't want their chances assessed by other students, they wouldn't ask. It's a guessing game, and college counselors don't know for certain either. Your assumption that people say a school is a reach for someone because they didn't get in is ridiculous. Most people try to make accurate guesses when chancing someone. </p>
<p>What's the matter, did someone tell you all your dream schools are reaches?</p>
<p>i haven't even posted my schools at all... but when i do post them this fall,.... i will record all the reaches ppl wrote. and once i get into all those "reaches" i will laugh and re-post the inaccuracy of ppl.</p>
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i haven't even posted my schools at all... but when i do post them this fall,.... i will record all the reaches ppl wrote. and once i get into all those "reaches" i will laugh and re-post the inaccuracy of ppl.
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I don't think the word "reach" is meant to describe a school that you cannot possibly get into, but rather a school that you may or may not get into. A "match" is a school that you will probably get into, and a "safety" is a school you will almost certainly get into. I really don't think that anyone is insulting your intelligence or crushing your dreams when they tell you that your school is a reach, but rather attempting to give you a realistic picture of what your admissions process will be like. I mean, I don't get offended when people tell me Harvard is a reach for me... it's a reach for practically anybody who is not a Native American female with a perfect SAT score who discovered a cure for cancer in high school and whose parents both went to Harvard and have contributed billions of dollars worth of donations. </p>
<p>Seriously dude, chill. Go eat some ice cream or something. Relax, we're not trying to p!ss you off here.</p>
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i haven't even posted my schools at all... but when i do post them this fall,.... i will record all the reaches ppl wrote. and once i get into all those "reaches" i will laugh and re-post the inaccuracy of ppl.
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<p>And how do you know that your assessment of chances at various schools is better than that of the people posting on this forum, many of which have already been through the college application process? </p>
<p>I like your overconfidence though. If I remember correctly, you are the guy that said you could get in to any college because you are black and have a good gpa. Good stuff.</p>