Safety schools for high achievers

[Anonymous]

Do you have a hook or hooks? Michigan, Emory, USC aren’t anyone’s safeties. USC is the kind of school parents spend $500,000+ bribery to get their kids in. They were risking some 50+ years behind the bars to do it. And these schools don’t want to be known as someone’s fall backs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Her expectations are way off, sorry. Our child was in that high achiever group by any definition, and we were advised very clearly and correctly that Michigan and USC are not safeties for this group. In some cases, they aren't even matches. I don't know anything about smaller schools like Emory because my kid wanted a bigger school. Safeties (and strong schools by any measure), which by definition your child is almost certain to get in to, are more along the lines of Wisconsin, UIUC, and UT Austin. In our kid's peer group, all had the qualifications on paper to get into places like Michigan, Cal, and UCLA, but only about half did. Same as for all of the other schools in the top 25.

Do not take for granted that the bolded schools here are safeties even for high stats kids. We just went through the admissions process with my DC from a DC private. There were kids that did not get into Wisconsin with high stats, and UT Austin (which my kid miraculously got into) has about a 10% acceptance rate for out of state kids. It's almost impossible for business and engineering. UIUC may be easier but NOT for computer science or engineering.

OP - anyone who thinks Michigan, USC, or Emory are safeties is delusional. Nobody from my DC's private got into USC, and Michigan practices yield protection and I've seen several very top stats kids not get into Michigan over the past three years because of that. My DC got waitlisted at Michigan and is going to UCLA. So it's really random.

Good luck to your DD.

[Anonymous]

Keep in mind that for the high achieving kids, getting into the top schools is a crap shoot. So many kids have great stats and it is hard to predict who these schools will admit. Also, as a parent of a college senior, my observation is that the pressure of where a kids attends college is ridiculously intense in high school. After that, no one cares much. And if the friends choose to think poorly of your daughter because of the school she attends then they aren't kind people and she is better off without them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The rankings are such garbage. What a terrible way to pick where to live and learn for four years. I could understand focusing on name recognition to network, but ranking the top 15-25 as safeties is risky. They’re all very different schools, and there are different methodologies to rank.

This. I don't understand how kids/parents who are supposedly so smart (smart enough to score in the upper percentiles) are so stupid re: basic life.

— parent of a junior who is similarly situated as OP's kid, numerically

[Anonymous]

Gosh this has to be yet another trollpost, are there actually parents that think Michigan and Emory are safeties for anybody?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Look at the top 20 in her proposed major. There will be some obvious options there.

This is the approach if she has an idea of what she wants to study. It makes no sense to go to a school with a higher "overall" magazine rank when it is lower ranked in what you want to study.

[Anonymous]

Surprised OP didn't straight out say the kid's reaches are T3 ivies - Harvard, Princeton, Columbia - and straight out say the kid's fall backs are T4 and down - MIT, Yale, and Stanford. T3 kids can say MIT was a fall back - as a good-natured rib. So this post has to be a joke.

[Anonymous]

Indiana University (IU) is no longer rolling admissions. Early Action and Regular Decision only.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Title says it - but to elaborate DD is in a social group where basically every student is expecting to get into a top 10-15 school. DD has solid credentials but is extremely worried she won't be able to get into a top 15. She is ok settling with a lesser school but doesn't wasnt to go to a school lower than rank 25. Michigan, Emory, USC seem to be her top safeties at the moment, does anyone have any other suggestions?

Yes, my suggestion is that you and your daughter quickly reset your priorities about college and higher education, and that you get her out of that toxic social group. Otherwise, she'll be "extremely worried" and miserable her whole life.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do you have a hook or hooks? Michigan, Emory, USC aren’t anyone’s safeties. USC is the kind of school parents spend $500,000+ bribery to get their kids in. They were risking some 50+ years behind the bars to do it. And these schools don’t want to be known as someone’s fall backs.

Michigan is a safety for almost any kid that can pay full price.

Our public HS sends at least 30 kids there from every graduating class.

Emory is a completely different category than Michigan.

USC is a waste of money. Who wants their kid paying that kind of money to go to school with Olivia Jade, a school that clearly doesn't care who they admit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do you have a hook or hooks? Michigan, Emory, USC aren’t anyone’s safeties. USC is the kind of school parents spend $500,000+ bribery to get their kids in. They were risking some 50+ years behind the bars to do it. And these schools don’t want to be known as someone’s fall backs.

Michigan is a safety for almost any kid that can pay full price.

Our public HS sends at least 30 kids there from every graduating class.

Emory is a completely different category than Michigan.

USC is a waste of money. Who wants their kid paying that kind of money to go to school with Olivia Jade, a school that clearly doesn't care who they admit.

Stop hogging all the crack.

[Anonymous]

William and Mary, UVA, VA Tech, Gtown

[Anonymous]

College fit isn't based on rank. Aside from rank, what does she want from a school? Location? Size? Student climate? Areas of study? Start there and you can find a range of schools that fit her needs. If she gets into a top 15 or top 25 school and decides to go there? Great. If she doesn't get into a top 15 or top 25 school, she'll still have good options.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do you have a hook or hooks? Michigan, Emory, USC aren’t anyone’s safeties. USC is the kind of school parents spend $500,000+ bribery to get their kids in. They were risking some 50+ years behind the bars to do it. And these schools don’t want to be known as someone’s fall backs.

Michigan is a safety for almost any kid that can pay full price.

Our public HS sends at least 30 kids there from every graduating class.

Emory is a completely different category than Michigan.

USC is a waste of money. Who wants their kid paying that kind of money to go to school with Olivia Jade, a school that clearly doesn't care who they admit.

Your HS kids are the third rate at best to actually go there. UMich will waitlist or reject 1st and 2nd tier students. Top tiers #1 and #2 go elsewhere.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Title says it - but to elaborate DD is in a social group where basically every student is expecting to get into a top 10-15 school. DD has solid credentials but is extremely worried she won't be able to get into a top 15. She is ok settling with a lesser school but doesn't wasnt to go to a school lower than rank 25. Michigan, Emory, USC seem to be her top safeties at the moment, does anyone have any other suggestions?

Yes, my suggestion is that you and your daughter quickly reset your priorities about college and higher education, and that you get her out of that toxic social group. Otherwise, she'll be "extremely worried" and miserable her whole life.

x1,000

Is it a private? Or just the upper crust of a snobby public

It would be healthy for your daughter to consider good school that excel at what she wants to learn. In a part of the country she wants to live in. What size she wants. Greek or not, etc.

What a shame to slavishly let USNWR dictate this important life decision. What if #27 is a dream school for her? I hope that you did not encourage such thinking, and can help her shake it.