Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:+3 I think there is some confusion about what a safety school is, especially in the current time.

A safety school is one that you are extremely likely to be admitted - like at least 70% and for some up to 99% (there is no 100 of course).

That is partially a measure of your credentials compared to typical admits, but also a measure of the school's process - which of course is never fully known.

Just an example, Miami of Ohio received 26,844 applications (from 2020-2021 common data set). They admitted 24,684, over 90%.

So we know they are not highly selective, and we likely know that if your credentials compare favorably to their typical applicant, you are highly likely to be admitted. They also have a low ultimate yield, because they had 3800 enrollments from that 24,684 admitted number.

That is a safety school for a lot of people.

Tulane at 9% or even 15% admittance rate is not a typical safety. It may be for very high achieving students, but for most it is not a guaranteed admittance.

Plus, keep in mind that an AO can also sniff out if they think a student is serious about attending, right? What if they perceive your non-early RD application as over-qualified and might reject to protect their yield? So even on the highest end you are not guaranteed anything.

Tulane has been perhaps the most aggressive school out there at drumming up applications so they can lower their acceptance rate. They send postcards to people with a pulse.

+

My kid with a 2.8 and 22 ACT has been getting inundated with stuff from Tulane.

That means nothing.

Agree. My DC has a 3.99 u/w and a 34 ACT and gets packets from all the Ivies...and we also think it means nothing.

Anonymous wrote:Curious which west coast safety if you do not mind sharing, thanks - and why you/student liked it. Thanks.

Anonymous wrote:It says best colleges with high acceptance rates.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I second the Towson’s and St Mary’s suggestions for MD. Here are a few other possibilities for your son to consider.


MD
St Mary’s (actually a top ranked public liberal arts college) (acceptance rate 81%)

Towson (part of U MD system, first training college for teachers in MD so strong in education) (acceptance rate 76%)

UMBC (UMD honors college in Baltimore County that is considerably easier to get into then the flag shop UMCP (44.%) but has some higher ranked programs) (acceptance rate 61%). Do need average 3.9 GPA though.

DC
Catholic University of America (urban liberal arts) (85% acceptance rate)


Va

https://study.com/articles/careers-and-education/what-are-the-easiest-colleges-to-get-into-in-virginia.html

Mary Baldwin University - 100%
Sweet Briar College - 96%
Bluefield College - 94%
University of Lynchburg - 92%
Virginia State University - 91%
Longwood University - 90%
Norfolk State University - 90%
Randolph College - 90%


Niche has “best colleges in ___ (State ) with high acceptance rates” - so suggest your son check those schools out in the states that he is interested in. Let him research the individual colleges listed to decide whether he might like to apply to those as “safeties”

Eg South Carolina

2022 Best Colleges with High Acceptance Rates in South Carolina
Bob Jones University. ...
Orangeburg Calhoun Technical College.
University of South Carolina
Union.Spartanburg Community College.
Columbia College
South Carolina.
Horry-Georgetown Technical College.
Piedmont Technical College.


I strongly suggested that our son apply to a good number of solid safeties so that he felt like he had decent options. He appreciated it after a brutal round of rejections despite being a top athlete scholar at a good school. The competition from this area is fierce.

Good luck.

Bob Jones?? Definitely not a top school

Anonymous wrote:I second the Towson’s and St Mary’s suggestions for MD. Here are a few other possibilities for your son to consider.


MD
St Mary’s (actually a top ranked public liberal arts college) (acceptance rate 81%)

Towson (part of U MD system, first training college for teachers in MD so strong in education) (acceptance rate 76%)

UMBC (UMD honors college in Baltimore County that is considerably easier to get into then the flag shop UMCP (44.%) but has some higher ranked programs) (acceptance rate 61%). Do need average 3.9 GPA though.

DC
Catholic University of America (urban liberal arts) (85% acceptance rate)


Va

https://study.com/articles/careers-and-education/what-are-the-easiest-colleges-to-get-into-in-virginia.html

Mary Baldwin University - 100%
Sweet Briar College - 96%
Bluefield College - 94%
University of Lynchburg - 92%
Virginia State University - 91%
Longwood University - 90%
Norfolk State University - 90%
Randolph College - 90%


Niche has “best colleges in ___ (State ) with high acceptance rates” - so suggest your son check those schools out in the states that he is interested in. Let him research the individual colleges listed to decide whether he might like to apply to those as “safeties”

Eg South Carolina

2022 Best Colleges with High Acceptance Rates in South Carolina
Bob Jones University. ...
Orangeburg Calhoun Technical College.
University of South Carolina
Union.Spartanburg Community College.
Columbia College
South Carolina.
Horry-Georgetown Technical College.
Piedmont Technical College.


I strongly suggested that our son apply to a good number of solid safeties so that he felt like he had decent options. He appreciated it after a brutal round of rejections despite being a top athlete scholar at a good school. The competition from this area is fierce.

Good luck.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:+3 I think there is some confusion about what a safety school is, especially in the current time.

A safety school is one that you are extremely likely to be admitted - like at least 70% and for some up to 99% (there is no 100 of course).

That is partially a measure of your credentials compared to typical admits, but also a measure of the school's process - which of course is never fully known.

Just an example, Miami of Ohio received 26,844 applications (from 2020-2021 common data set). They admitted 24,684, over 90%.

So we know they are not highly selective, and we likely know that if your credentials compare favorably to their typical applicant, you are highly likely to be admitted. They also have a low ultimate yield, because they had 3800 enrollments from that 24,684 admitted number.

That is a safety school for a lot of people.

Tulane at 9% or even 15% admittance rate is not a typical safety. It may be for very high achieving students, but for most it is not a guaranteed admittance.

Plus, keep in mind that an AO can also sniff out if they think a student is serious about attending, right? What if they perceive your non-early RD application as over-qualified and might reject to protect their yield? So even on the highest end you are not guaranteed anything.

Tulane has been perhaps the most aggressive school out there at drumming up applications so they can lower their acceptance rate. They send postcards to people with a pulse.

+

My kid with a 2.8 and 22 ACT has been getting inundated with stuff from Tulane.

That means nothing.

Agree. My DC has a 3.99 u/w and a 34 ACT and gets packets from all the Ivies...and we also think it means nothing.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:+3 I think there is some confusion about what a safety school is, especially in the current time.

A safety school is one that you are extremely likely to be admitted - like at least 70% and for some up to 99% (there is no 100 of course).

That is partially a measure of your credentials compared to typical admits, but also a measure of the school's process - which of course is never fully known.

Just an example, Miami of Ohio received 26,844 applications (from 2020-2021 common data set). They admitted 24,684, over 90%.

So we know they are not highly selective, and we likely know that if your credentials compare favorably to their typical applicant, you are highly likely to be admitted. They also have a low ultimate yield, because they had 3800 enrollments from that 24,684 admitted number.

That is a safety school for a lot of people.

Tulane at 9% or even 15% admittance rate is not a typical safety. It may be for very high achieving students, but for most it is not a guaranteed admittance.

Plus, keep in mind that an AO can also sniff out if they think a student is serious about attending, right? What if they perceive your non-early RD application as over-qualified and might reject to protect their yield? So even on the highest end you are not guaranteed anything.

Tulane has been perhaps the most aggressive school out there at drumming up applications so they can lower their acceptance rate. They send postcards to people with a pulse.

+

My kid with a 2.8 and 22 ACT has been getting inundated with stuff from Tulane.

That means nothing.

Anonymous wrote:It should be obvious that the fact a school turns down a lot of applicants does not make it a safety.

Some schools, Tulane included, are heading toward filling their classes before the RD round. That needs to be considered as well in evaluating a safety, because, even if you apply EA, you may have a timeline that makes it problematic. Looking at Tulane's numbers, the acceptance for RD appears to be below 5%.

Again, that does not mean it is substantially more selective, it just means it drives you towards ED, which means it is hard to make it a safety.

Anonymous wrote:Just one opinion, but here is a basic process to consider:

1. Start with the things about a school that cannot be changed - size, location, weather, course of study. If you know you want northeast and no midwest, that helps narrow the list. If your student wants a finance program (and not economics), that narrows the list of some liberal arts colleges for example. If you do not want snow, etc. These are all items that cannot be changed about the university.

2. Once you have a narrower list, consider the common data sets for each university. They are all publicly available and give an idea of the benchmarks for admission - gpa, tests, what items are important or not for admission, such as essays or work experience. They also give you what % of applicants are admitted then choose to enroll - a decent proxy for competitiveness.

These two steps should help with a shorter list. You can also read reviews - I think Niche is pretty good as is Unigo - in moderation. Remember that an unhappy student/person is far more likely to review than the group of positive people, just like a bad restaurant.

Eventually you will want to see some of these campuses if possible - especially if not cost prohibitive - and with students on campus.

Again just one perspective, good luck!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:+3 I think there is some confusion about what a safety school is, especially in the current time.

A safety school is one that you are extremely likely to be admitted - like at least 70% and for some up to 99% (there is no 100 of course).

That is partially a measure of your credentials compared to typical admits, but also a measure of the school's process - which of course is never fully known.

Just an example, Miami of Ohio received 26,844 applications (from 2020-2021 common data set). They admitted 24,684, over 90%.

So we know they are not highly selective, and we likely know that if your credentials compare favorably to their typical applicant, you are highly likely to be admitted. They also have a low ultimate yield, because they had 3800 enrollments from that 24,684 admitted number.

That is a safety school for a lot of people.

Tulane at 9% or even 15% admittance rate is not a typical safety. It may be for very high achieving students, but for most it is not a guaranteed admittance.

Plus, keep in mind that an AO can also sniff out if they think a student is serious about attending, right? What if they perceive your non-early RD application as over-qualified and might reject to protect their yield? So even on the highest end you are not guaranteed anything.

Tulane has been perhaps the most aggressive school out there at drumming up applications so they can lower their acceptance rate. They send postcards to people with a pulse.

+

My kid with a 2.8 and 22 ACT has been getting inundated with stuff from Tulane.