<p>As I said in the other thread, by this author’s definition of safety (which I think is a good definition), it’s silly to apply to three or four safety colleges. Apply to the very best safety college you can find, preferably early in a rolling admission round, and then apply to more speculative colleges that fit you. Miracles DO happen to applicants every year–or at least every year students on CC tell about them–but the way to avoid disasters is to build the list from the safety up.</p>