Anonymous
Post 06/18/2026 08:13     Subject: “True Safeties” that accept nearly every applicant but have retained great reputations?

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Safeties for high stats kids-Auburn, Alabama, Clemson, USC (South Carolina), Ohio State, Michigan State, Penn State, Rutgers, NC State.


OP didn't ask for safeties for "high stats kids." OP asked for safeties that "accept nearly every applicant." Just about everyone on this thread, with a few exceptions, has no reading comprehension.


Be kind. This process is challenging enough. Let’s find ways to be helpful and encouraging. There’s enough (opportunity) to go around.
Anonymous
Post 06/17/2026 23:30     Subject: “True Safeties” that accept nearly every applicant but have retained great reputations?

JMU is less of a safety than it once was. Really good leadership and it’s becoming very popular.

UVA gets 400 applicants from TJ & consequently is definitely not a safety for TJ students; might be easier from the base schools.
So “safety” depends a lot on your individual high school’s application rates.
Anonymous
Post 06/17/2026 23:27     Subject: “True Safeties” that accept nearly every applicant but have retained great reputations?

Oklahoma, Auburn, Georgia
Anonymous
Post 06/17/2026 22:58     Subject: “True Safeties” that accept nearly every applicant but have retained great reputations?

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:JMU is popular and it seems most students are happy there. No one is disputing this.

That being said, it is also definitely a “safety” school.


And UVA is a “safety school” to others.


Most schools are safties to some and not safeties to others. UVA might well be a safety to someone.

Over 10,000 people were rejected by JMU this year so it certainly is not a safety for everyone.
Anonymous
Post 06/17/2026 22:47     Subject: Re:“True Safeties” that accept nearly every applicant but have retained great reputations?

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:To get back to the actual question: Arizona State (90% acceptance rate) and Arizona (86% AR) are good examples of what OP is looking for. Nationally solid reputation but a healthy acceptance rate.


When I see these schools on a resume I don’t think ‘Solid’. I think ‘good enough’ like I think of U of Kansas.


Agree, but keep in mind that OP is looking for safeties, where being labeled 'good enough' is a plus. Many schools cannot even claim that.


A main difference between the heartland flagships (U of Minnesota, U of Kansas, U of Nebraska, U of Oklahoma etc) and the JMU/Drexel types is that in flyover country it’s very common for the very top students (such as valedictorians, salutatorians, & National Merit contenders) to not even consider T40 schools.

They often skip all the application drama & just go where probably half if the successful people in their town went: their instate flagship (or even the slightly lower prominent colleges like Kansas State, Michigan State, & Oklahoma State).

So, these schools might accept 85% of applicants, but people out there don’t look at them as last-resort schools. They really are “good enough,” without the negative connotation that term has in the Northeast.


They provide an excellent education and also have room to accept a high percentage of applicants. Both can be true.
Anonymous
Post 06/17/2026 22:08     Subject: “True Safeties” that accept nearly every applicant but have retained great reputations?

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Pepperdine, Fordham, SMU, TCU, Indiana, LMU, Bucknell


Fordham is a safety for no one


Bucknell is also not a safety. They do not accept the vast majority of their applicants. I get that some people on this board don't like Bucknell and that's fine, but it's not a safety school like OP is looking for.
Anonymous
Post 06/17/2026 21:39     Subject: “True Safeties” that accept nearly every applicant but have retained great reputations?

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Northeastern


Used to be true but then they launched a highly successful scheme to drive their acceptance rate down and it's now in the low double digits or maybe even single digits.


I think you meant to say “corrupt “ instead of “highly successful “
Anonymous
Post 06/17/2026 21:37     Subject: “True Safeties” that accept nearly every applicant but have retained great reputations?

This whole thread has a messed up idea of what a safety is. Surprise surprise.
Anonymous
Post 06/17/2026 21:34     Subject: “True Safeties” that accept nearly every applicant but have retained great reputations?

Anonymous wrote:Pepperdine, Fordham, SMU, TCU, Indiana, LMU, Bucknell


Fordham is a safety for no one
Anonymous
Post 06/17/2026 21:26     Subject: “True Safeties” that accept nearly every applicant but have retained great reputations?

VCU
Miami Ohio
Loyola MD
WVU
Kentucky
Anonymous
Post 06/17/2026 21:21     Subject: Re:“True Safeties” that accept nearly every applicant but have retained great reputations?

In CA, there are many Cal States that have very high acceptances. It’s really only SJSU, SDSU, Cal Poly SLO, CSLB and Fullerton that require higher GPAs, and generally require 4.0+ for engineering etc. The rest are easy admits for B/C students. Chico State is a popular choice.

UC Merced has a very high acceptance rate. ASU has also always had a high acceptance rate. You can get a very good STEM or social sciences education from either school though not sure about humanities. However, you aren’t going to graduate with an engineering degree at any UC or ASU if you can’t do math and physics. These schools are good for the kid that messed up in high school but is really smart in their choice of major.

The southern flagships are easy admits if you are from CA. For high stats kids that get shut out of UCs, UMD and Pitt are safeties that almost always accept them.
Anonymous
Post 06/17/2026 20:57     Subject: “True Safeties” that accept nearly every applicant but have retained great reputations?

Anonymous wrote:Safeties for high stats kids-Auburn, Alabama, Clemson, USC (South Carolina), Ohio State, Michigan State, Penn State, Rutgers, NC State.


OP didn't ask for safeties for "high stats kids." OP asked for safeties that "accept nearly every applicant." Just about everyone on this thread, with a few exceptions, has no reading comprehension.
Anonymous
Post 06/17/2026 20:49     Subject: “True Safeties” that accept nearly every applicant but have retained great reputations?

Safeties for high stats kids-Auburn, Alabama, Clemson, USC (South Carolina), Ohio State, Michigan State, Penn State, Rutgers, NC State.
Anonymous
Post 06/17/2026 19:57     Subject: “True Safeties” that accept nearly every applicant but have retained great reputations?

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:JMU is popular and it seems most students are happy there. No one is disputing this.

That being said, it is also definitely a “safety” school.


And UVA is a “safety school” to others.


No dog in this race, but it absolutely is not a safety school. That's just plain silly.


I disagree. Students at top tier privates who are highly competitive for HYPMS use UVA as a safety. UVA doesn't yield protect for OOS students the way Tufts and others do.

Occasionally, kids who think of UVA as a safety are enticed to attend if they win a Jefferson scholarship.
Anonymous
Post 06/17/2026 19:45     Subject: “True Safeties” that accept nearly every applicant but have retained great reputations?

Pepperdine, Fordham, SMU, TCU, Indiana, LMU, Bucknell