<p>When working with my son to develop a target college list, and knowing him
as I (believe I) do, my thinking was that given his higher test scores (e.g. -
29 ACT composite (34 Reading, 31 Science), 780 World History SAT) but
lower grades (2.9ish GPA), and the difficulty he has with organization,
a reach school (where he'd more likely be with students to whom academics
come more naturally) would simply be a bad idea.</p>
<p>Better that he should be in the ~66th to 80th percentile -- still room to reach,
but not setting him up to struggle unnecessarily.</p>
<p>Am I missing some important considerations here?</p>
<p>I think that reach, target and safety schools are individual for the student in question. So a reach school for him might be one where it is a little above what he can more easily get in or one that is well known for his major. Doesn’t mean that you need to reach for the Ivies, just something a bit challenging for him. However, don’t put a tougher school on his list if he doesn’t love it. He will only be motivated to get in and do well if it is a dream school for him.</p>
Sure. Certainly, there are schools on his list that are more challenging admits – just as there are a couple of academic safeties (where I’d be happy to see him and he’d be happy to attend – one of which has already sent the acceptance letter :)).</p>
<p>We’re going to be on the same boat as you and your son next application cycle (2015), and have a similar philosophy of wanting BHG being the mid-sized or large fish in the pond, and researched schools for her target list accordingly. She will apply to 3 schools that are reaches based on GPA only. The other schools are matches or safeties based on both GPA and ACT. </p>
<p>I read many of your posts in the Colleges for the Jewish B student, and think you and your son put together an excellent slate of institutions. He (your son) should have many more acceptances at hand once the class of 2014 application cycle ends.</p>
<p>Attending a reach is not always a good idea. My son got into a very rigorous school, and is really working is butt off - like a friend said - he is truly working his way through school. Yet I hear others on CC and people I know in real life with kids there are skating through. It’s hard to be on the lower end. My d has seen all of this and our encouraging conversations, my worry about him, etc and she gets now why we’re a little hesitant to really push for the reach school for her. He is a work horse and LOVES a challenge and doesn’t care about grades so much. For him it truly is about the learning. She doesn’t want to HAVE to work herself like that in college so we’re suggesting she go with a match.</p>
<p>He’s learned a lot about learning and organizing himself and it was a bit disheartening to realize the private school we paid for since he was little really wasn’t as rigorous as the special programs in public schools many of his friends attended.</p>
<p>My DD applied to 12 schools, none of which were probably reaches, but we didn’t know that at the time because most of them were lesser known in her HS and so Naviance wasn’t much help. They were mostly LACs with EA where her strong interviews, extracurriculars and geographical distance helped her get in. She was very comfortable with her list and acceptances started coming in around Thanksgiving. She was so grateful not to be sweating it out until April as so many of her friends were.</p>
<p>I think a reach school or two is fine so long as your son KNOWS it’s a reach school and is ready to accept the fact that there’s a good chance he won’t get in. Personally, I’m applying to 3 safeties, only 1 match, and 5 reaches. Sure, I’ll be disappointed if I don’t get in to a few of them, but I’m already into my 3 safeties with fairly significant scholarships, and I know I would be happy to go to any of them. If your son wants to apply somewhere–if he really loves it and would love to go there–I don’t see any reason for you to stop him. Just don’t let him get caught up in a “dream school” where the odds of admission aren’t exactly in his favor and have no idea what to do should he get rejected.</p>
<p>I also think my DD began her college career in August confident that she was going to be able to do well academically because she was right in that “66th to 80th percentile.” She went to a very competitive HS where she took difficult classes and got some middling grades in subjects that weren’t her favorites. College hasn’t turned out to be a piece of cake–she’s certainly not bored by any means–but she seems to have found her niche.</p>
<p>Reach schools are the LEAST important schools on a list and it is perfectly fine to have no reach schools. The MOST important schools to have on the list are financial+admission safeties. A list that only contains matches and safties (financial+admission) is a perfectly sensible list.</p>
<p>My son had no reach schools, and I can say without question that the experience of getting multiple acceptances–along with generous merit offers from a number of schools–was incredibly positive for him. Meanwhile, many of his friends were extremely disappointed when reach after reach rejected them–in one case, the family misjudged so terribly that the child had NO desired schools to choose from in the end and they paid for expensive college counseling AFTER April 1, just to help choose the “lesser of the evils” among the fallback schools that had accepted him. </p>
<p>My son’s HS background was similar to Wintriest’s daughter’s. He is very bright but not competitive, and he took classes that interested him no matter how challenging and with little concern for his GPA. He is thriving at his college, where he is probably in the top quartile stats-wise. He is challenged in his small classes and has found like-minded peers and opportunities to excel.</p>
<p>My daughter, a junior, already has three schools picked out to apply to and thinks she is done. She will likely get into all of them.</p>
<p>It doesn’t have to be as hard as people on this site make it out to be.</p>
<p>The main goal in all of this is to find a school that you are happy with and that you can afford. The vast majority of kids go to a public that has rolling admissions. Many apply to exactly one school. If you’re happy with that, that’s all you need.</p>
<p>A student whose first choice happens to be a safety (guaranteed admission, guaranteed affordability, academically and otherwise suitable and desirable) may have just that one school on his/her application list. It is not necessary to have match or reach schools, although many students will choose to have some (most students prefer to attend the most selective school that they can get admitted to).</p>
<p>As noted above, the application list should start with the safeties.</p>
<p>Now, it is possible for some students with reasonable academic credentials to have no possible safeties (e.g. interest in an unusual major only offered at more selective or expensive schools, or interest in a visual or performing arts program that requires portfolio or audition), but that is not likely to be the majority of students with reasonable academic credentials.</p>
<p>I think a lot depends on your definition of “reach.” Most people on CC seem to define a reach as one where you probably wouldn’t be admitted. Another type of “reach” might be a merit reach-- one where the chance of acceptance is high but the amount of merit aid you’re shooting for is competitive. Although the school itself might be a match or low match, the merit award would be a reach. For students with an unaffordable EFC, this would be a good strategy.</p>
<p>D1 didn’t apply to any reach schools. Partly because of specialized curriculum (video game design) but partially because we knew that this bright kid with ADHD would do better being at a school at which she was a little overqualified academically. And so far (finishing first quarter of freshman year in a week or 2) it was a good decision. D2 on the other hand will be applying to reach schools. Different kids, different personalities.</p>
<p>Last year, my son applied to mostly “likely” and “possible” schools (as his HS college counseling office referred to those options, recognizing that few acceptances are a sure thing…), plus 3 reaches. He got into one of the reaches, and was deferred and rejected at one, and deferred then waitlisted then he withdrew his app from the third. He has learning challenges, but works very hard. He could have managed at any of the schools he applied to, although I would have worried more if he opted for a reach! </p>
<p>He ultimately chose a “likely” that was one of his first loves, and is very happy there, and doing well academically and socially, and growing in his organizational skills and confidence. </p>
<p>I think it was good for him to know he had “reached” and that one admitted him, and 2 did not. At the end of the process on May 1st, he did not have any “what if?” regrets. </p>
<p>Every kid and family situation is different, however. You know your child best.</p>
<p>Great thread! My D applied to 2 reaches, 2 safeties and 7 matches. So far she got into both safeties and 1 match, all with merit awards. The reaches won’t send out decisions until April. I think she should go to one of her safeties or matches and not the reaches for many of the same reasons several of you have expressed. If your child is in the 60-80th percentile at a school, how does this affect them socially, if at all? My D is concerned about this as well. She’s not an academic snob by any means but she is brighter than her GPA shows and wants to find friends she feels she will fit in with. She’s not convinced she will be able to at a safety where she is not in Honors. Would love to hear thoughts from parents who have gone this route.</p>
<p>A lot of kids do not apply to reach schools. The reach/match/safety matrix really applies the most for those kids who are eyeing a lot of selective schools. Some of those kids would only be cherry picking if you let them. They need to understand that their chances of admission at their picks are low, that those schools are reaches and they need to find some like schools where they are more likely to get accepted, matches, and most important of all some sure things. Some kids have no safeties either as they figure if they cannot get into the schools on their list, they’ll try again next year, or look for some local area school with open admissions and late deadlines if it comes to that. I don’t advise this way of lookng at things, but a lot of kids I know, the very high stats kids with no fin need often work this way. Their object is to get into the the most presitgious school they possibly can. </p>
<p>But if your student has a list of schools that are all likely to take him, and he is perfectly happy with those schools, you are set. Some kids may want to broaden some horizons and look at some other possibilities, some don’t. It’s up to the kid.</p>
<p>I lived in an area where it was Big State U as the reach, though it wasn’t a reach for many of the kids. They would look at the smaller state schools, local area schools just as back up, but many of them well knew they were nearly certain to get accepted to BSU and didn’t really think much about other choices. The parents were not about to pay for privates, though many could, so BSU was truly their best deal unless they got merit money, and frankly, they preferred to go the state flagship over most any school. The idea of applying to , say Emory, was not something they entertained. They preferred BSU to that option. So why bother with the private more selective colleges?</p>
<p>Completely agree. Both of my kids focused on match/safety schools where they were likely to be accepted (hopefully with merit money) and where they knew they would be challenged but not have to struggle to stay afloat. I think it was good decision for both of them, though they are very different kids with very different learning styles, and each applied to a very different spectrum of schools. Fortunately, there are many, many more wonderful, engaging, but less-selective schools out there than the other kind - something for everyone!</p>
<p>Less selective schools are not necessarily academic pushovers, BTW. My son had to work VERY hard to be successful in his engineering program, but it was a great fit for him nevertheless. My daughter, on the other hand, is looking for a place where personal growth is just as important as academic growth and will want to be free to explore a variety of interests and not be tied to a desk in the library.</p>