<p>Faline, I know where you kid is based on some previous correspondence we've had, and as a Professional school grad of that school I have to tell you that for athletics, this time of year in particular is an experience beyond belief. I hope he's loving it.</p>
<p>lderochi, nothing would make me happier than if my daughter's top choice was a safety. (It isn't) The kid who loves his safety essentially owns the whole process -- he chooses the school, and he likely ends up with merit aid or other perks as well. The kid who is aspiring to a reach is entirely at the mercy of a fickle ad com. </p>
<p>There simply is less stress involved, and the kid goes off to college feeling a lot more confident of his own abilities -- which in turn probably is reflected in the kid's initial adjustment and involvement in various activities. </p>
<p>That doesn't mean that the kid can't change his mind after getting into a reach -- but its a lot nicer to be making that choice after getting the letter of admission, when the choices are real -- than to rest a college strategy on hopes that are likely to go unfulfilled, with a jaundiced eye on the very school where the kid is likely to end up.</p>
<p>Calmom highlights some important benefits of loving your safety which we don't always talk about explicitly. I would add that these benefits apply - maybe even more so - at a Solid Match school. This is the type of school my DS eventually chose. I wouldn't call it a safety, but he was high enough in the applicant pool to have what they wanted and earn exciting merit $. Just as she said, stress low and confidence ^^^. For my kid, who is an excellent student in a very, very strong hs where he was therefore never at the top of the heap, this is a very valuable benefit. Some kids' personalities may make this confidence-boosting benefit a moot point; for my own kid, I think it is very valuable icing on the cake.</p>
<p>I really believe a lot of these kids come out of high school with major burn-out. The 4 year pressure to get great grades, take courses at the highest level (even in subjects you hate), be in every possible EC and make sure to excel in at least one, feed the homeless and repaint your church along the way.....
My niece is applying mainly to match and safety schools, because she and her family really believe that these (Pitt, Penn State, Delaware) offer the best engineering education. She has a good shot at Scheyers Honors College, and today she told her mother that she isn't sure she wants to do Scheyers even if she gets in. She heard all the kids do is study. This is a kid who is a top student and is also applying to one reach Ivy and one strong engineering LAC. She is just flat burned out and tired of the whole thing. She got her Pitt acceptance today, and was really excited, although there wasn't much question about it. She loves her match/safety schools, and I think it might be a real reward to go to one of these nice, big schools with a good range of kids and enjoy the sports and partying, while still getting a great education.<br>
Long live safeties and matches!</p>
<p>Absolutely Jmmom. There are down sides to admission to reaches..another four years of intensity where your ultimate best is required just to survive all the time, bye bye to access to merit money due to your best being just the mean, getting used to killer curves in some courses. If your child is weary of this grind but still going to shine in life, outcomes are just as great from less hyperselective colleges. And 18-22 is about growth in so many other realms as well. Attach to Match schools and then decide in late April if the reach is really best for your S or D should a couple reach admissions open up. Those last visits made a big impact in my son's views last April, but his love for his match colleges was hard core. Help your child get used to Not Knowing and being Zen till then. It is a privilege to have these choices and it takes a lot of thought to exercise this privilege.</p>