<p>OK, I have the HYPSM....but the letters after that? What do they mean?</p>
<p>"OK, I have the HYPSM....but the letters after that? What do they mean?"
AWS usually means Amherst/Williams/Swarthmore, I like to throw in Pomona. (Actually my favorite acronym for these four is WASP, but it always starts one of those silly debates on elitism so I try to desist. :))</p>
<p>
[quote]
What are like the notorious safety schools that kids who want to go to wesleyan, columbia, swarthmore (schools of that caliber) would visit/apply to.
[/quote]
ok, this post kind of worries me...for the OP, do you really know what you want in your future college? i'm not trying to criticize your choice, but columbia, wesleyan, and swarthmore are three completely different schools...are you sure there's something they share in common other than name prestige?
safeties are sometimes hard to pick, but as someone earlier said, you can almost always count on your state school...consider also whether you're more focused on attending a university or an LAC b/c a university may not be a good safety if you're geared toward attending an LAC or vice-versa
and i don't know where people are getting these numbers, but duke with a 20% acceptance rate and rice with a 24% acceptance rate can hardly be called anyone's safeties</p>
<p>In Northern Virginia........George Mason and George Washington, for REALLY smart kids, William and Mary.</p>
<p>just look at schools in this way to see if they're a safety,match, or reach. This method usually gives you a good idea:</p>
<ol>
<li>Reach - school for which your SATs are below the 25-75 range</li>
<li>Match - school for which your SATs are in the 25-75 range</li>
<li>Safety - school for which your SATs are way above the 25-75 range</li>
</ol>
<p>U of Rochester is a good safety for many students who want to aim high, but end up rejected by the ivies. UR has a lot of strong programs. The admission rate is high but the acceptance rate by the students is very low. Rochester is not a bad town, but the climate is horrible.</p>
<p>lagal...actually i have visited all the campuses and have talked to people who attend/have attended these schools, i have also stayed over night at one of them. trust me, i know what I want to study and all of these schools have remarkable programs in this area. At the same time i can understand why you may think that I'm just interested in these schools for their names. On the contrary, i know a bit about these schools and love them for some different reasons and some of the same reasons. Also, though some schools may be similar, i dont think that its easy to find even three schools that all can be put into the same box (even just being a lac or an ivy doesnt really make them the same schools).</p>
<p>Also..ive been skimming over the posts. Im sorry if i sounded arrogant/stupid before like i've worked hard so i <em>deserve</em> the best. I guess i didnt put it exactly as i should have, but what i meant was that i basically want the best fit for me, a place where i really feel comfortable/a bit challenged/ and happy. i feel that at the safeties that i have visited i wouldnt really feel all those things, so wouldnt enjoy going there. i just wanted to have an idea of some safeties in general for kids who do relatively well in school/have the ecs/good recs/all that stuff. I think some of the schools people have named are right on, while some of the schools like duke and northwestern would be by no means safeties in my mind. i would love to hear any more suggestions, so i might have some other places to consider visiting.
as always, thanks for all the help.</p>
<p>ml41588,
what majors are you interested in? Are there particular areas of the country you do/don't like?</p>
<p>i'd say very few people actually know what they are talking about when posting on this thread. If you want good safeties then apply to schools who you know will take you like your state's public school. I don't care how smart you think you are, i've had friends who have incredibly stacked stats and get rejected from all the ivies they applied too. Have a diverse college list as far as selectivity goes. Maybe have some "safety-match" that are "public iviy" schools like UW-Madison, UMich, UVA, UNC, or UCB. (I doubt UCB or UVA would be wise to use as a match-safety because they are so competitive, but i haven't seen your stats.)</p>
<p>Tufts
Emory</p>
<p>ml, I don't think kids like you are arrogant or stupid (and I applaud you for asking the question), just ignorant in the true sense of "don't know any better." It's a jungle out there! And you are at risk of being eaten by lions and tigers.</p>
<p>Go at the college search with supreme confidence and continue to love your first choice(s) but also buy into the idea of LEARNING to love a school that is less selective. Turn your attitude around to a positive outlook. What you want is a school about which you could say "Hey, I could see myself here." </p>
<p>To this point you may have to do a lot of research, visit several, interview (meet some kids), elimate a lot. But you must believe that you can get there and you need to get there.</p>
<p>My safety list is outdated. As I said schools keep moving up in selectivity. I think you're on the right track with Brandeis. Tell us more about what you're looking for and keep asking.</p>
<p>Tufts has been mentioned several times. Believe me, it is nobody's safety. (Case in point.)</p>
<p>
[quote]
i'd say very few people actually know what they are talking about when posting on this thread
[/quote]
Yes! But its just so much fun to judge other people, who can resist?!</p>
<p>Colgate should not be considered a safety except by the very, very top applicants. It can be considered a solid match, but the applicant pool is large and the school is becoming more and more selective.</p>
<p>smart kid's safety?</p>
<p>boston college
case western
university of illinois-urbana champaign
george washington university
purdue
your state school</p>
<p>if you think ur good enough for HYPSM, then id say cornell as well.</p>
<p>Are you kidding me? Cornell may be the least selective Ivy, but it is nobody's safety.</p>
<p>not if you're seriously thinking about having a good shot at HYPSM. if you're thinking about having a GOOD shot at HYSPM, your safeties would be the first choices of many respectable and talented people.</p>
<p>It's misleading to talk about having a "GOOD" shot at HYPSM. With the exception of the truly extraordinary, luck inevitably comes into play. Tons of people apply to HYPSM thinking they have a good shot. Some get into all five, some get rejected by all five, some fall somewhere in between. There are just too many qualified applicants for too few seats.</p>
<p>That sort of thing extends down to so-called second tier schools. I know people rejected by JHU who got into Princeton. At Cornell's level, things are still too selective for anyone's admission to be guaranteed. A good match, yes, but not a safety. The only exception would be if someone's high school had a special relationship with it.</p>
<p>Safety school is a nebulous term. Obviously your local state university would be a safety for you.</p>
<p>There are several schools mentioned whose acceptance rates decreased markedly this year and can no longer be classified as a safety for HYPSM/WASP -- They're tired of being considered as such and like Brown did about 15 years ago, denied or WLed candidates who obviously were overqualified or who brought little to the campus besides the "numbers." These schools include: Emory, Tufts, Colgate, Bucknell, Michigan, Northwestern, Vanderbilt, Wake Forest, Holy Cross, BC and Colby. The increasing number of applications to these schools means that they're no longer "step-children" to anyone and they've all been invited to the ball. </p>
<p>For HYPSM/WASP safety schools, you have to look at the next tier down, outside of the USN&WR Top 20 unis & LACs.</p>
<p>Duke could be my safety. I'm not applying though. I'm from NC where Duke is a lot easier and also my school is a feeder. Judging by some of the kids that have gotten into Duke from my school in the past few years, I don't think it would be a problem.</p>
<p>i would say that the acceptance rate of HYPSM deferreds to cornell would easily be 80%</p>