Searching for more safety schools for my DS

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What is the obsession with Pitt?

It has rolling admissions. The goal is to get one safety in hand so you and your child don't panic the rest of the season. You apply late in summer or September and have something in hand in October.

[Anonymous]

Macalaster
Drexel
Smith

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Target/safety would be case western
Likely safety Brandeis (although maybe it’s too small?)
True safety Belmont (it’s a pretty campus near Vandy)

Brandeis is small and it's not really in a college town. I think Tufts, BU, and Northeastern would be better if he's interested in the urban or college city/town lifestyle.

I’m what world are Tufts, BU and NE safeties for this applicant?

From a rigorous DC private (Sidwell or similar) they are safeties. It's a different world than public.
With only three B+ grades he is likely top 20% in the class, maybe even top 10%.

No, they are not. Not even close. BU mayyybe but not Northeastern and definitely not Tufts.

Agree that Tufts is not a safety for anybody--especially without showing previous interest, huge yield protection there. However, Northeastern and BU are 100% safeties for a candidate like OPs son. I guy, from Sidwell or St. Albans (assuming it's one of those-if it's GDS, Burke, or Maret, it's true, those won't have quite the same rate of acceptance). But those grades put a kid at the top 15% of StA or Sidwell.

OP here. It's not Sidwell or StA. It's one of the other 3 you identified.

He does have Tufts on his list. His college counselor advises that Tufts is definitely not a safety for anyone.

Thanks to everyone for all the suggestions. Reading carefully and taking notes!

Oh, well, that does change whether these are safeties. Tufts is a definite reach, and I would say Northeastern may be a target, definitely not a safety. BU may be closer (I think previous poster is confusin BU with BC).

I'm the PP who provided info from BU and Northeastern. I didn't mistake BU for BC. (BC's admissions rate last year was similar, just under 19%, but obviously a much smaller total number of applicants, just under 40k.) All that information is easily obtainable via a simple Google search that will take you directly to the source - the universities themselves. I don't know why people comment here if they don't even have a grasp of the basic facts. Maybe you're thinking of your own college admissions experiences, which were presumably decades ago, or even of kids who graduated a few years ago. If so, that perspective is totally irrelevant. All admissions have become much more competitive over the past decade, and COVID and test optional admissions turbo charged that. On average, BU and BC are marginally more competitive than Northeastern. None of them are safeties. If you had a clue, you'd know that the really important data can be found on Naviance, which will likely show even tougher odds from the DC area given the relatively higher volume of applications from this region to Northeastern schools. And finally, no school that admits less than 20% of the applicant pool is a safety for ANYONE in 2021, even some presumably perfectly nice overachieving white kid from a fancy DC private school.

[Anonymous]

For true safeties…
Dayton
Elon
Marist
UNCW or UNCC

add Lehigh and URoch as a match, if mid size is what he wants

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Macalaster
Drexel
Smith

We are talking about a male student here. Smith isn't an option.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For true safeties…
Dayton
Elon
Marist
UNCW or UNCC

add Lehigh and URoch as a match, if mid size is what he wants

Marist’s campus is pretty isolated - I would not recommend it for someone looking for city schools or lively college towns

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Target/safety would be case western
Likely safety Brandeis (although maybe it’s too small?)
True safety Belmont (it’s a pretty campus near Vandy)

Brandeis is small and it's not really in a college town. I think Tufts, BU, and Northeastern would be better if he's interested in the urban or college city/town lifestyle.

I’m what world are Tufts, BU and NE safeties for this applicant?

From a rigorous DC private (Sidwell or similar) they are safeties. It's a different world than public.
With only three B+ grades he is likely top 20% in the class, maybe even top 10%.

No, they are not. Not even close. BU mayyybe but not Northeastern and definitely not Tufts.

Agree that Tufts is not a safety for anybody--especially without showing previous interest, huge yield protection there. However, Northeastern and BU are 100% safeties for a candidate like OPs son. I guy, from Sidwell or St. Albans (assuming it's one of those-if it's GDS, Burke, or Maret, it's true, those won't have quite the same rate of acceptance). But those grades put a kid at the top 15% of StA or Sidwell.

OP here. It's not Sidwell or StA. It's one of the other 3 you identified.

He does have Tufts on his list. His college counselor advises that Tufts is definitely not a safety for anyone.

Thanks to everyone for all the suggestions. Reading carefully and taking notes!

Oh, well, that does change whether these are safeties. Tufts is a definite reach, and I would say Northeastern may be a target, definitely not a safety. BU may be closer (I think previous poster is confusin BU with BC).

I'm the PP who provided info from BU and Northeastern. I didn't mistake BU for BC. (BC's admissions rate last year was similar, just under 19%, but obviously a much smaller total number of applicants, just under 40k.) All that information is easily obtainable via a simple Google search that will take you directly to the source - the universities themselves. I don't know why people comment here if they don't even have a grasp of the basic facts. Maybe you're thinking of your own college admissions experiences, which were presumably decades ago, or even of kids who graduated a few years ago. If so, that perspective is totally irrelevant. All admissions have become much more competitive over the past decade, and COVID and test optional admissions turbo charged that. On average, BU and BC are marginally more competitive than Northeastern. None of them are safeties. If you had a clue, you'd know that the really important data can be found on Naviance, which will likely show even tougher odds from the DC area given the relatively higher volume of applications from this region to Northeastern schools. And finally, no school that admits less than 20% of the applicant pool is a safety for ANYONE in 2021, even some presumably perfectly nice overachieving white kid from a fancy DC private school.

I'm the PP you're responding to. I have a freshman at a "Top 20" university and a high school senior in a DC private going through the cycle right now. I have a serious clue. Quite familiar with Naviance. At our kids' school, BU is not remotely on par with BC--acceptance rate is twice as high for BU as for BC. OP says they are at competitive private, so I imagine it's similar.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Target/safety would be case western
Likely safety Brandeis (although maybe it’s too small?)
True safety Belmont (it’s a pretty campus near Vandy)

Brandeis is small and it's not really in a college town. I think Tufts, BU, and Northeastern would be better if he's interested in the urban or college city/town lifestyle.

I’m what world are Tufts, BU and NE safeties for this applicant?

From a rigorous DC private (Sidwell or similar) they are safeties. It's a different world than public.
With only three B+ grades he is likely top 20% in the class, maybe even top 10%.

No, they are not. Not even close. BU mayyybe but not Northeastern and definitely not Tufts.

Agree that Tufts is not a safety for anybody--especially without showing previous interest, huge yield protection there. However, Northeastern and BU are 100% safeties for a candidate like OPs son. I guy, from Sidwell or St. Albans (assuming it's one of those-if it's GDS, Burke, or Maret, it's true, those won't have quite the same rate of acceptance). But those grades put a kid at the top 15% of StA or Sidwell.

GDS is the peer of StA and Sidwell as far as acceptance rates.

I agree with others that Brown and Chicago are very, very different schools besides that they're both in cities and about the same size. He needs to look a little deeper into what he wants out of college. Look at the Fiske Guide.

Mid-size schools my GDS kid with similar stats was told to look at were

William & Mary, Richmond, Miami, Villanova, Lehigh, Rochester, Case, Bucknell, SMU, Santa Clara, GW, American, TCU, Pepperdine

Took you long enough.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Fordham
Richmond
U of Houston
Xavier
Cincy
Butler
Dayton
Providence
Baylor
Gonzaga

He can do better with safety choices. Look at Lehigh, but be sure to visit and show a lot of interest.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What is the obsession with Pitt?

They overenrolled by a lot and are getting lots of apps. High demand for schools with lots of research and great location.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Target/safety would be case western
Likely safety Brandeis (although maybe it’s too small?)
True safety Belmont (it’s a pretty campus near Vandy)

Brandeis is small and it's not really in a college town. I think Tufts, BU, and Northeastern would be better if he's interested in the urban or college city/town lifestyle.

I’m what world are Tufts, BU and NE safeties for this applicant?

From a rigorous DC private (Sidwell or similar) they are safeties. It's a different world than public.
With only three B+ grades he is likely top 20% in the class, maybe even top 10%.

No, they are not. Not even close. BU mayyybe but not Northeastern and definitely not Tufts.

Agree that Tufts is not a safety for anybody--especially without showing previous interest, huge yield protection there. However, Northeastern and BU are 100% safeties for a candidate like OPs son. I guy, from Sidwell or St. Albans (assuming it's one of those-if it's GDS, Burke, or Maret, it's true, those won't have quite the same rate of acceptance). But those grades put a kid at the top 15% of StA or Sidwell.

OP here. It's not Sidwell or StA. It's one of the other 3 you identified.

He does have Tufts on his list. His college counselor advises that Tufts is definitely not a safety for anyone.

Thanks to everyone for all the suggestions. Reading carefully and taking notes!

Oh, well, that does change whether these are safeties. Tufts is a definite reach, and I would say Northeastern may be a target, definitely not a safety. BU may be closer (I think previous poster is confusin BU with BC).

I'm the PP who provided info from BU and Northeastern. I didn't mistake BU for BC. (BC's admissions rate last year was similar, just under 19%, but obviously a much smaller total number of applicants, just under 40k.) All that information is easily obtainable via a simple Google search that will take you directly to the source - the universities themselves. I don't know why people comment here if they don't even have a grasp of the basic facts. Maybe you're thinking of your own college admissions experiences, which were presumably decades ago, or even of kids who graduated a few years ago. If so, that perspective is totally irrelevant. All admissions have become much more competitive over the past decade, and COVID and test optional admissions turbo charged that. On average, BU and BC are marginally more competitive than Northeastern. None of them are safeties. If you had a clue, you'd know that the really important data can be found on Naviance, which will likely show even tougher odds from the DC area given the relatively higher volume of applications from this region to Northeastern schools. And finally, no school that admits less than 20% of the applicant pool is a safety for ANYONE in 2021, even some presumably perfectly nice overachieving white kid from a fancy DC private school.

I'm the PP you're responding to. I have a freshman at a "Top 20" university and a high school senior in a DC private going through the cycle right now. I have a serious clue. Quite familiar with Naviance. At our kids' school, BU is not remotely on par with BC--acceptance rate is twice as high for BU as for BC. OP says they are at competitive private, so I imagine it's similar.

Your "serious clue" - which led you to insist over and over again here that Tufts, BU and Northeastern are 'safeties' - is either dated or badly informed. And if your kids really are at a bigger-name private, you don't have direct access to the Naviance data for your school. So go brag about your T20 freshman somewhere else.

[Anonymous]

Midsize + Urban + Safety generally = Catholic. Lots of options if you’re cool with that. If not, check out UVM.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Target/safety would be case western
Likely safety Brandeis (although maybe it’s too small?)
True safety Belmont (it’s a pretty campus near Vandy)

Brandeis is small and it's not really in a college town. I think Tufts, BU, and Northeastern would be better if he's interested in the urban or college city/town lifestyle.

I’m what world are Tufts, BU and NE safeties for this applicant?

From a rigorous DC private (Sidwell or similar) they are safeties. It's a different world than public.
With only three B+ grades he is likely top 20% in the class, maybe even top 10%.

I can vouch for this. My DS is a senior and I actually thought he wrote this (he denied). Three B+ and nothing lower does indeed get you in the upper echelon of the class at his school.

To OP, we are having a hard time too and we have found already this year that state schools are not your friend for safeties. YOU think they're a safety -- because your kid is in the 98th % for State School's SAT and you think a 3.8 UW is pretty damn good coming from Sidwell or St. Albans. (it is).

Texas Arizona Georgia Colorado Washington Wisconsin Florida, however, would like to defer your EA application, because you're being compared to public school kids with 5.7 weighted GPAs. Turns out, they are not safeties.

So go with the smaller private schools already listed on this thread, because they will know what three B+ grades actually means from your school. They have relationships

[Anonymous]

UVM Honors College, Wisconsin, Lehigh, Santa Clara, Pitt, UMD. Show interest at Uvm, Lehigh and Santa Clara.

[Anonymous]

GDS is the peer of StA and Sidwell as far as acceptance rates.

I can't speak to acceptance rates, but the GPAs of GDS seniors tend to be higher than the GPAs of Sidwell seniors. Not that Sidwell calculates GPAs