If your kid’s reach school is a top 10, what is their safety?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Middlebury is not a target and UMD is not a safety.

Looking at Naviance from a MD school, UMD is a safety for those with high GPA and high SAT. Every single applicant gets in if their stats are high enough. So assuming those posters are in state, UMD could very well be a safety.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why are you on this board if you're in CA? Weird.

I will respond to this though I am not the OP. I used to live in DC. When I moved, I kept using the forum. I am sure many people outside of DC post a ton of helpful info on here that you wouldn't want removed. Given your comment, I think I have been posting on here a lot longer than you have.

Sorry, but it's weird for someone in CA to be asking about safeties on a DC-based forum. It's too local of an issue.

This betrays far more ignorance and provincialism than you realize; hence, why you posted it.

[Anonymous]

University of Washington and Pitt

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Santa Clara has its share of yield protection. Be forewarned.

LOL I love it when DCUM parents blame their kids' rejections on "yield protection."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why are you on this board if you're in CA? Weird.

I will respond to this though I am not the OP. I used to live in DC. When I moved, I kept using the forum. I am sure many people outside of DC post a ton of helpful info on here that you wouldn't want removed. Given your comment, I think I have been posting on here a lot longer than you have.

Sorry, but it's weird for someone in CA to be asking about safeties on a DC-based forum. It's too local of an issue.

NP here. Many of us don't consider the college admission process to be local. I live in Maryland but most of my kid's safeties were on the West Coast.

To OP-- my kid was (out of sheer luck, because it's quite random) admitted to an Ivy ED. But the safeties (true safeties) she had on her list were out of state Publics-- some in CA. Also UWashington and Colorado.

Having gone through this with her last year, I can say that there were some extremely talented kids (probably more qualified than her, honestly) who were rejected absolutely everywhere except UMD. Like really tip top scores, tons of 5s on APs, captains of school teams. Not only did they not get Ivys, but they didn't get, like Georgia Tech and UVA and Michigan and places like that. Both of the two I'm thinking of ended up (not very happily) at UMD despite about 15 applications at all levels of school.

So "Safety" really means Safety. It doesn't mean UVA (whether in-state or out-of-state). It means someplace you know you'll get in (preferably rolling admission so you have it locked in early-- some people like Pitt for this reason) and that you'd be happy to go to. In my dd's case, she wasn't so excited academically about UW and UC but she thought it would be cool to live in those places...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why are you on this board if you're in CA? Weird.

I will respond to this though I am not the OP. I used to live in DC. When I moved, I kept using the forum. I am sure many people outside of DC post a ton of helpful info on here that you wouldn't want removed. Given your comment, I think I have been posting on here a lot longer than you have.

Sorry, but it's weird for someone in CA to be asking about safeties on a DC-based forum. It's too local of an issue.

NP here. Many of us don't consider the college admission process to be local. I live in Maryland but most of my kid's safeties were on the West Coast.

To OP-- my kid was (out of sheer luck, because it's quite random) admitted to an Ivy ED. But the safeties (true safeties) she had on her list were out of state Publics-- some in CA. Also UWashington and Colorado.

Having gone through this with her last year, I can say that there were some extremely talented kids (probably more qualified than her, honestly) who were rejected absolutely everywhere except UMD. Like really tip top scores, tons of 5s on APs, captains of school teams. Not only did they not get Ivys, but they didn't get, like Georgia Tech and UVA and Michigan and places like that. Both of the two I'm thinking of ended up (not very happily) at UMD despite about 15 applications at all levels of school.

So "Safety" really means Safety. It doesn't mean UVA (whether in-state or out-of-state). It means someplace you know you'll get in (preferably rolling admission so you have it locked in early-- some people like Pitt for this reason) and that you'd be happy to go to. In my dd's case, she wasn't so excited academically about UW and UC but she thought it would be cool to live in those places...

Nice humble brag.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Middlebury is not a target and UMD is not a safety.

Why is UMD not a safety for kids with 1550+ SAT

Would it be a safety school for a kid in CA who was applying for FA?

UMD probably doesn't give any need-based aid to nonresidents.

Exactly why I asked. So it won’t be a safety for many OOS kids regardless of how high their scores are.

OP here. We won’t be applying for FA.

But why would your DC want to go to MD? (Not a rhetorical question — might be related to major.). UMD isn’t any better or more prestigious than the “lesser” UCs and it'd be more expensive and harder for a CA resident to get into than one of them.

OP here. She doesn’t want to go to UMD! Someone listed it as a safety.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wisconsin for my high-stats full-pay kid.

Got into t10 early & accepted, but looked back wistfully on Madison. Don’t know what would have happened if DC had had offers from both simultaneously (and/or had waited til Spring to decide rather than wanted to be done with the whole process before Xmas.)

University of Wisconsin is a great idea, OP!

NP-- Could you please say more about this? What makes Madison a good school for kids with high stats? Unfortunately I haven't had the chance to visit the mid-west at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wisconsin for my high-stats full-pay kid.

Got into t10 early & accepted, but looked back wistfully on Madison. Don’t know what would have happened if DC had had offers from both simultaneously (and/or had waited til Spring to decide rather than wanted to be done with the whole process before Xmas.)

University of Wisconsin is a great idea, OP!

NP-- Could you please say more about this? What makes Madison a good school for kids with high stats? Unfortunately I haven't had the chance to visit the mid-west at all.

That posters are pushing Maryland and Wisconsin as safeties for a California high stats applicants confirms how useless this forum is for a California parent.

Wisconsin, by the way, is one of the whitest and least diverse major universities in the US. That DCUM loves it so much speaks volumes about its readership.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What are your kid's stats?

SAT: 1590
GPA: 3.99 (unweighted) 12 APs
Student Body President; a bunch of other leadership ECs
Solid volunteer hours: about 400
National Merit and two national art awards
Cross Country and Track and Field.

No hooks.

Wow!! These are great stats. With these stats you only need to apply ED in your dream school to show that you are a safe bet.

I know you mentioned MIT, and MIT does not have ED. Is there any school your kids would be happy to do ED in and be ok to turn down MIT if in the slim chance they did make an offer?

What is your demographics? If it is an Asian male your chances in MIT will be far different than a female of any race.

[Anonymous]

OP, my kid has very similar stats to yours. His plan is to apply to his top 5 school by Nov 1.

1 reach, 2 hard target. 2 safeties (including UMD).

[Anonymous]

How about CU Boulder?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Middlebury is not a target and UMD is not a safety.

Why is UMD not a safety for kids with 1550+ SAT

Would it be a safety school for a kid in CA who was applying for FA?

UMD probably doesn't give any need-based aid to nonresidents.

Exactly why I asked. So it won’t be a safety for many OOS kids regardless of how high their scores are.

OP here. We won’t be applying for FA.

But why would your DC want to go to MD? (Not a rhetorical question — might be related to major.). UMD isn’t any better or more prestigious than the “lesser” UCs and it'd be more expensive and harder for a CA resident to get into than one of them.

OP here. She doesn’t want to go to UMD! Someone listed it as a safety.

With those stats apply to the three 2nd tier UCs - UCSD, UCSB & Davis. Maybe SLO? Your kid wouldn't go to a school like SD State even if they (almost certainly) get in, so why bother?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Middlebury is not a target and UMD is not a safety.

Why is UMD not a safety for kids with 1550+ SAT

Would it be a safety school for a kid in CA who was applying for FA?

UMD probably doesn't give any need-based aid to nonresidents.

Exactly why I asked. So it won’t be a safety for many OOS kids regardless of how high their scores are.

OP here. We won’t be applying for FA.

But why would your DC want to go to MD? (Not a rhetorical question — might be related to major.). UMD isn’t any better or more prestigious than the “lesser” UCs and it'd be more expensive and harder for a CA resident to get into than one of them.

OP here. She doesn’t want to go to UMD! Someone listed it as a safety.

With those stats apply to the three 2nd tier UCs - UCSD, UCSB & Davis. Maybe SLO? Your kid wouldn't go to a school like SD State even if they (almost certainly) get in, so why bother?

And I see your DC is female? Then look at women's colleges - they LOVE high stat STEM girls. ie, if you're full pay, Scripps could be consider a safety because they are need aware for a full portion of applicants. My DD with similar stats applied there as a safety and actually ended up getting offered a generous merit scholarship, just fyi.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What are your kid's stats?

SAT: 1590
GPA: 3.99 (unweighted) 12 APs
Student Body President; a bunch of other leadership ECs
Solid volunteer hours: about 400
National Merit and two national art awards
Cross Country and Track and Field.

No hooks.

We get it, your kid is great and there are only several hundred schools that would be their safety. I think s/he can figure this out.