Do you know of any situations where student got into "reach" schools but not safety schools?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It happened to me (I was a freshman in 1999). I was accepted at Harvard and rejected by CU Boulder.

I was a strong student, but my guidance counselor and parents had been preparing me to be rejected by Harvard, and my dad had gotten me some CU Boulder tee shirts and folders when we visited in May. He didn't buy me any Harvard merchandise when we visited because, he said later, he was sure I would be rejected and was uncomfortable with how strongly I had set my heart on Harvard.

I still wore the CU Boulder tees while running along the Charles

Love it!

[Anonymous]

Nephew:

Waitlisted: UVA

Rejected: JMU, W&L, UMD, GMU, UMich, OSU, LSU, Florida

Accepted: UPenn and BU

His scores and grades were better than his sisters and she was a Jr at UVA at the time. Go figure!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Nephew:

Waitlisted: UVA

Rejected: JMU, W&L, UMD, GMU, UMich, OSU, LSU, Florida

Accepted: UPenn and BU

His scores and grades were better than his sisters and she was a Jr at UVA at the time. Go figure!

UPenn is where a Washington politician with a munificently funded bank account can attend. There’s no mystery to this school.

[Anonymous]

Everyone knows Umich yield protects. I've never seen anyone with above average intelligence get in. It's always the mediocre students who can barely get into community college are the ones to get full rides to Michigan

[Anonymous]

Is there a way to signal genuine interest to schools you did not tour? DC is interested in UNC Asheville and College of Charleston as "safeties" but he genuinely likes them and would be happy to go to either. We visited each but not "officially," because we were there on weekends when they did no offer tours.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes. My DC had a sort of donut hole acceptance rate. Yes at reach: Davidson, UPenn, Wellesley, no at Wake, Duke, Emory, yes at safeties.

Wake, Duke and Emory were also reaches, so your logic doesn't follow.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is there a way to signal genuine interest to schools you did not tour? DC is interested in UNC Asheville and College of Charleston as "safeties" but he genuinely likes them and would be happy to go to either. We visited each but not "officially," because we were there on weekends when they did no offer tours.

Just a thought to write the admissions people at those schools and ask if they are sending reps up here so your DC can meet them. Tell them you visited on the weekend and your DC loves the school. My sister lives in Asheville. Great town!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do you know of any students (either your own kid, or maybe the kid of a friend or neighbor) where they were accepted at highly selective schools but ended up NOT getting accepted at schools that were meant to be safeties? Do safety schools ever deny a student because they know a student of that caliber is only using them as a safety, and they'd rather save acceptance for those they think will likely go there?

Appears to be so. But some of these schools are making huge assumptions, maybe based on a kids’ address? , apparently thinking that we’re zillionaires who don’t need scholarships. Oh well - to keep this from happening to your child i’d make sure that the guidance counselor adequately communicates your family’s situation to the school early on in the process. Have them somehow express that the student is likely to attend the school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lack of demonstrated interest. If you don't have alum parents, never visited campus, never paid for a summer camp, and your "why ___?" essay is surface level bulls***, odds are you're NOT going to college 1,000 miles away from home, you're just shotgunning blasting the app.

Ugh this makes me nervous. My DS's first choice school is a "safety school" (fits most of the description in 18:44.) He definitely has the stats to get into something "higher"--but this is the school he wants and feels is the best fit.
He knows a few current students at the school so he's been to visit a few times, gone to football games, etc. but has never gone on an "official campus tour." I told him he might want to but he insisted he's been on campus enough times to have got a good feel for it.
He did go to a summer camp there over the summer so hopefully that will help with "demonstrated interest?"

He applied last week so I guess we should know in the next couple weeks if the lack of official campus tour has ruined his chances.

Have him contact his regional admissions counselor.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lack of demonstrated interest. If you don't have alum parents, never visited campus, never paid for a summer camp, and your "why ___?" essay is surface level bulls***, odds are you're NOT going to college 1,000 miles away from home, you're just shotgunning blasting the app.

Ugh this makes me nervous. My DS's first choice school is a "safety school" (fits most of the description in 18:44.) He definitely has the stats to get into something "higher"--but this is the school he wants and feels is the best fit.
He knows a few current students at the school so he's been to visit a few times, gone to football games, etc. but has never gone on an "official campus tour." I told him he might want to but he insisted he's been on campus enough times to have got a good feel for it.
He did go to a summer camp there over the summer so hopefully that will help with "demonstrated interest?"

He applied last week so I guess we should know in the next couple weeks if the lack of official campus tour has ruined his chances.

Have him contact his regional admissions counselor.

Before finding out the decision? What should he say?
He could schedule a tour now, for a date a few weeks from now. Would it look better if he at least has a tour scheduled?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do you know of any students (either your own kid, or maybe the kid of a friend or neighbor) where they were accepted at highly selective schools but ended up NOT getting accepted at schools that were meant to be safeties? Do safety schools ever deny a student because they know a student of that caliber is only using them as a safety, and they'd rather save acceptance for those they think will likely go there?

Not if they were true safeties. I have only heard people being rejected from their “safeties” when they were confused or did not do their homework.

What would you consider a safety?

Small Jesuit colleges or universities that are respectable but unknown outside your area.

Public universities that are roughly comparable to Norfolk State University.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Nephew:

Waitlisted: UVA

Rejected: JMU, W&L, UMD, GMU, UMich, OSU, LSU, Florida

Accepted: UPenn and BU

His scores and grades were better than his sisters and she was a Jr at UVA at the time. Go figure!

Accepted to an Ivy but flat out rejected from George Mason? Was his application there late or incomplete or something? I know people (20 years ago of course) who went ot George Mason from my FCPS high school and they were.... not top students. No AP classes, no GT classes (or AAP or whatever they call them now if not GT), got a bunch of Bs in a bunch of non advanced classes basically, and no leadership/ EC stuff.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Nephew:

Waitlisted: UVA

Rejected: JMU, W&L, UMD, GMU, UMich, OSU, LSU, Florida

Accepted: UPenn and BU

His scores and grades were better than his sisters and she was a Jr at UVA at the time. Go figure!

Accepted to an Ivy but flat out rejected from George Mason? Was his application there late or incomplete or something? I know people (20 years ago of course) who went ot George Mason from my FCPS high school and they were.... not top students. No AP classes, no GT classes (or AAP or whatever they call them now if not GT), got a bunch of Bs in a bunch of non advanced classes basically, and no leadership/ EC stuff.

20 years ago is night and day from today. I wouldn’t have gotten into the school that I attended and I graduated HS in 2001. That said, I’m guessing this kid half assed their essay.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes. My DC had a sort of donut hole acceptance rate. Yes at reach: Davidson, UPenn, Wellesley, no at Wake, Duke, Emory, yes at safeties.

Wake, Duke and Emory were also reaches, so your logic doesn't follow.

No with DC stats Wake and Emory were not reaches. They were matches. Duke is a reach for anyone.

[Anonymous]

Yes. My kid. Got aid from a reach and didn’t get in to one of his safeties.

It happens.