Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:George Mason University!

Please tell me what your kid ended up loving about it. I'm serious. I've wanted to like it for my first kid, and despite multiple visits, it just seemed half-ass'd... but that may be more a factor of they way they host their visits, and not indicative of the actual student experience. For my second kid, GMU seems like an obvious choice b/c he really doesn't care about the "traditional college/college town" experience, and it'd be quite convenient for him to be at college close by.
So, can you tell me about the good experience your kid had.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NC State Engineering/CS

DH and I were not thrilled when DD who got into way better programs picked that program.

She is now a CTO at age 33. Has the most amazing friends from college.

Would I ever recommend NCSU from a parent point of view no. However for her it was a fantastic ride.

Why not? What concerns you about NC State Engineering? I ask this because my child has NC State Engineering as their safety school.

I want to know why the NC State mom wouldn't recommend it from a parent's point of view. It is one of 3 schools my child is choosing from (not engineering). I have heard there were a lot of suicides at the school this year, and I've heard early engineering classes can be a huge weed out session, but what else didn't you like?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:George Mason University!

Please tell me what your kid ended up loving about it. I'm serious. I've wanted to like it for my first kid, and despite multiple visits, it just seemed half-ass'd... but that may be more a factor of they way they host their visits, and not indicative of the actual student experience. For my second kid, GMU seems like an obvious choice b/c he really doesn't care about the "traditional college/college town" experience, and it'd be quite convenient for him to be at college close by.
So, can you tell me about the good experience your kid had.

NP.

If you’re on Facebook, I suggest you join the GMU Parents page (it’s for prospective parents, too). They are realists and share the good and the bad about the school.

DP: One of my DCs best friends goes to GMU and what she values about her experience there is that she feels like it's a lot more "realistic" about college life than the hyped up college experience. People still have fun, parties etc. but there are a wider range of life experiences--with some people living at home, some people in the dorms, some off-campus, some transferring in from CC. The diversity of the students is notable === racial/ethnic but also income levels. She just feels like she's more in a transition to the real adult world--she's had internships, she's worked while in school (despite not 100% needing to), she did a study abroad. I put this in contrast with my own kid who's in a more traditional highly selective school, mainly residential but is now a senior and feels like it is coming to a close and like this dream is ending and the adult world of working looms. My kid has been used to being successful in school--and has loved the academics at his school--but is unsure about next steps and it feels deflating rather than energizing because she can picture that everyone is going to be leaving this idyllic world where they were all in walking distance of each other, only having school and fun to focus on, rewarded by the sense of prestige of their institution etc. She looks to her friend at GMU and feels like she's been more steadily building a grounded life in the DC area with more than just school involved.

This is a great contribution to this discussion. It is very easy to get absorbed into the bubble provided by the traditional college experience and nothing about that prepares you for the "real world." For those exiting the bubble it can definitely be more daunting figuring out what's next. Granted there are plenty of companies eager to siphon students directly into their own corporate bubbles. Still it can be difficult adjusting to reality when you've never had to exit your comfort zone before.

Anonymous wrote:Wellesley, which is never a true safety but they had really wanted Amherst or Swarthmore. Took a leap of faith to go single-sex and loved it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NC State Engineering/CS

DH and I were not thrilled when DD who got into way better programs picked that program.

She is now a CTO at age 33. Has the most amazing friends from college.

Would I ever recommend NCSU from a parent point of view no. However for her it was a fantastic ride.

Why not? What concerns you about NC State Engineering? I ask this because my child has NC State Engineering as their safety school.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:UVM

Kid at the admitted student event said it was his safety. He loves it.

UVM received 28,000 applications this year, 33,000 last year, for freshman classes of less than 3,000. "Safety" is a relative.

Good to know! I didn't know that many applied. Yes, safety is relative. The definition people use on DCUM usually includes an acceptance rate over 50%. Some people here say a safety should have an acceptance rate greater than 75%. UVM is listed in some places as having an acceptance rate of 50% or more.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:UVM

Kid at the admitted student event said it was his safety. He loves it.

UVM received 28,000 applications this year, 33,000 last year, for freshman classes of less than 3,000. "Safety" is a relative.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:George Mason University!

Please tell me what your kid ended up loving about it. I'm serious. I've wanted to like it for my first kid, and despite multiple visits, it just seemed half-ass'd... but that may be more a factor of they way they host their visits, and not indicative of the actual student experience. For my second kid, GMU seems like an obvious choice b/c he really doesn't care about the "traditional college/college town" experience, and it'd be quite convenient for him to be at college close by.
So, can you tell me about the good experience your kid had.

NP.

If you’re on Facebook, I suggest you join the GMU Parents page (it’s for prospective parents, too). They are realists and share the good and the bad about the school.

DP: One of my DCs best friends goes to GMU and what she values about her experience there is that she feels like it's a lot more "realistic" about college life than the hyped up college experience. People still have fun, parties etc. but there are a wider range of life experiences--with some people living at home, some people in the dorms, some off-campus, some transferring in from CC. The diversity of the students is notable === racial/ethnic but also income levels. She just feels like she's more in a transition to the real adult world--she's had internships, she's worked while in school (despite not 100% needing to), she did a study abroad. I put this in contrast with my own kid who's in a more traditional highly selective school, mainly residential but is now a senior and feels like it is coming to a close and like this dream is ending and the adult world of working looms. My kid has been used to being successful in school--and has loved the academics at his school--but is unsure about next steps and it feels deflating rather than energizing because she can picture that everyone is going to be leaving this idyllic world where they were all in walking distance of each other, only having school and fun to focus on, rewarded by the sense of prestige of their institution etc. She looks to her friend at GMU and feels like she's been more steadily building a grounded life in the DC area with more than just school involved.

Anonymous wrote:These are friends' kids

Stonehill College in MA - kid has a good job in Boston with kids who went to the colleges he was rejected by (BC, Villanova, Notre Dame)

Mary Washington - kid was rejected from every other VA school he applied to - was NOT excited at all by UMW but now loves it

Anonymous wrote:Whitman (had really wanted Bowdoin) and Tufts (top choices were Penn and Hopkins)

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What about UMES (U Maryland Eastern Shore)? I've heard good things from others whose children went there. We don't have any personal experience with it but it seems like it would be a good choice for a student who wanted College Park but didn't quite make the cut.

It has pretty low retention and graduation rates. Maybe you are thinking of St. Mary's College of Maryland, which is also on the Eastern Shore? I know a couple kids very happy there. DD considered SMCM but ended up at an OOS LAC. SMCM's 6yr graduation rate is 73% vs. a dismal 33% for UMD Eastern Shore.

Dismal grad rates are usually due to a preponderance of low SES kids who end up having to drop out. May also be due to students transferring to UMCP. If we send our DCUM kids, they will probably be fine.

Anonymous wrote:Whitman (had really wanted Bowdoin) and Tufts (top choices were Penn and Hopkins)

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In these types of threads, it would be useful to set the scene in terms of stats and what schools the child is aiming for before stating the safety. Safeties are relative, as are other factors, including whether the student is applying to a public school in-state or out-of-state. I've seen VA parents post about deferrals or rejections from VT for kids with stats higher than my kids' classmates in Maryland who got in (and the opposite for UMCP).

Among my own kids, safeties varied. One is very high achieving and was aiming for Ivies and MIT. He didn't get into any of those. His safety, which is not a safety for most students, was Georgia Tech, where he wound up having an amazing experience that he wouldn't trade for anything.

My other kids have more conventional in-state safeties, like Towson, UMBC, and Salisbury. But believe it or not, my kids also know kids who were rejected from Towson and UMBC too, so they aren't safeties for everyone either.

Of course there is a lot of variation in what is a safety for different types of students. I think mostly what people are noting when saying a school is "not a safety" is the schools with very low acceptance rates. No matter how awesome your student is, a school with a sub 20% acceptance rate is not a safety, no matter what (well, unless your dad is the president or you gave the school $1M+)

Georgia Tech's OOS admissions rate was 13%. It's great that your son got in but it was a target, not a "safety" and could easily have gone the other way. You think it's a safety now because it worked out. Same with anyone whose kid won the lottery-odds and now thinks that school is a safety. It's not. You got lucky.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Cal.

I know will say that’s not a safety, but it was for this kid. And they absolutely loved it.

What is "Cal"? ?

Some people on DCUM are so provincial. How can you not know Cal? Have you ever watched college football? Good grief.

Still not the type of school whose name you expect to be thrown around on a safety schools thread. I was thinking of California University of PA. I don't think "Cal" is a safety for any kid.