Reply to What is a safety school anymore?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I think t depends on a kid's profile. A school may be a "safety" for one kid, but a reach for another. Some schools however are so competitive that they are a toss-up.

Also I think lots of school will let you tour if you call them. Though I am surprised that Flint Hill can't fill classes at the US level because I know they get a good amount of applications.  [/quote]

I agree with this.  It totally depends on the applicant and where s/he is coming from.

A kid coming from, for example, a well regarded K-8 with top grades and high SSAT scores (say a minimum of 75-80%) will hope for admission to say  Sidwell or a Cathedral school or Maret but isn't guarteed any of those since they are competing against other kids with similar stats.  Those kids will consider some of the other schools as safety schools and apply to one or two just in case.

On the other hand, a kid with mediocre scores, and/or grades, or coming from a less well regarded school, or with a history of LD or behavioral issues, wouldn't even apply to those super academically, totally intense, competitive schools but might be applying to and hoping for the schools those others kids consider a safety.  These kids have their own safety schools and so on down the line of academic success/test scores since those are typically what most private middle and high schools look at, just like colleges.  Most kids end up at a school where they do well and are a great fit but there is so much angst that gets generated by the process. It's not healthy for teenagers quite honestly.

It is kind of a messesd-up system but would be difficult to change.  Perhaps kids should be limited to applying to only 3 schools and have to rank them by order of preference, but that would infuriate lots of people and require all the privates to cooperate.  Maybe the schools that aren't so intensely academic shouldn't use the same standardized test.  Maybe the artistically oriented schools should require a "talent" submission kind of like performing arts schools?  I dint know what would work but the current system seems designed to create the most stress for everyone.  [/quote]

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