There is no common understanding of "safety."

Some people posting think there is a very clear definition: > x% acceptance rate where x is something like 75.

Some people think it means a school where - based on student profile - knowledgeable people think the student has a very high chance of getting in.

It's not useful to have a discussion of what the right definition is in threads like this. The OP should just use more words to explain what they mean when they say "safety" and people should answer as they see fit. FWIW MOST people asking questions like that of the OP are using definition 2 and just answering as if they are rather than defending definition 1 makes for a more interesting conversation...

Anonymous wrote:People have no concept of a Safety here.

A "safety" is different for everyone based on the profile.

Anonymous wrote:DC was in Blair magnet and UMD was indeed their safety, because instate flagships (with a few exceptions) don’t yield protect. Every classmate who applied got in. Oos public was a different story. The results were more random. Some rejected T5 admitted.

Same for other MCPS magnets (my kid). Now at UMD and doing really well. And yea, there are some Blair magnet kids there, too.

People have no concept of a Safety here.

DC was in Blair magnet and UMD was indeed their safety, because instate flagships (with a few exceptions) don’t yield protect. Every classmate who applied got in. Oos public was a different story. The results were more random. Some rejected T5 admitted.