What would be a safety for a high stats kid from DC (4.0 unweighted, 35 ACT)?

^ if the kid was terribly unrealistic, GMU might have been the right school all along. In that case, GMU was really a target, not a safety.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I get the idea of a safety, but if you compromise too much is a safety worth attending? It strike me that if you’re reaching for Cornell and end up at George Mason you’ve either messed up your application or were terribly unrealistic. In that scenario, I’d find something else to do for a year and reapply.

Why do you think reapplying would result in a "better" school? If they didn't want you the first time, applying again doesn't change your story, grades or scores.

Because, as I said, to get that result, the kid either messed up the application or their expectations. If they have high stats, they messed up the application or application strategy. If they don’t have high stats, their expectations were unaligned with reality. College results shouldn’t be feast or famine - Cornell or GMU. Again, the qualifications for those two schools are do different the student either had no business/chance applying to Cornell or they should have ended up at a 25-50 school. GMU is ranked 148.

Anonymous wrote:How about Shenandoah University or Randolph-Macon College?

Those would be safeties for NVCC

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I get the idea of a safety, but if you compromise too much is a safety worth attending? It strike me that if you’re reaching for Cornell and end up at George Mason you’ve either messed up your application or were terribly unrealistic. In that scenario, I’d find something else to do for a year and reapply.

Why do you think reapplying would result in a "better" school? If they didn't want you the first time, applying again doesn't change your story, grades or scores.

While my kids wouldn’t be happy about GMU because it’s so close to home, it actually is a pretty strong school in a number of areas.

Anonymous wrote:I get the idea of a safety, but if you compromise too much is a safety worth attending? It strike me that if you’re reaching for Cornell and end up at George Mason you’ve either messed up your application or were terribly unrealistic. In that scenario, I’d find something else to do for a year and reapply.

Why do you think reapplying would result in a "better" school? If they didn't want you the first time, applying again doesn't change your story, grades or scores.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In VA, for a high stats kid, I’d say VT non-engineering and JMU are safeties. In MD, UMD-CP.

UMD-CP is not a safety, even for high stats kids. The honors and engineering schools are very competitive.

UMD is a safety unless applying for engineering or computer science. My child is at Blair and out of the hundreds of applicants in Naviance, I think there is maybe one high stat kid who didn’t get in. Seems like a sure bet if you apply before Nov 1 and not for the limited enrollment majors.

Life is about trade offs. We looked for safeties where merit was likely. So, lower ranked school but more money in reserve for grad school, travel, etc. If you look for fit, you’ll find reach/match/safety options.

Look at naviance for your school. Tends to be helpful for local state schools, although the data can be old. You’d want to be WELL into the safe area. If they yield protect, definitely not a safety.

Minnesota

Anonymous wrote:The answer to this depends entirely on what your child wants to study and what kind of school is a good fit. You don't randomly pick schools off of a global ranking list. That makes zero sense.

+1. Some people bent on prestige won't be awakened until the kid is in the employment world working next to people who attended "lesser" schools. The safety needs to be a school the kid would be willing to attend if nothing else on the list worked out, and there is no "do-over" next year, as there are no guarantees a gap year would result in better choices.

Lots of different ways to go for safeties. I have a relative at U Alabama on the big scholarship who is loving it.

Anonymous wrote:I get the idea of a safety, but if you compromise too much is a safety worth attending? It strike me that if you’re reaching for Cornell and end up at George Mason you’ve either messed up your application or were terribly unrealistic. In that scenario, I’d find something else to do for a year and reapply.

No, you go to George Mason, try to do well, and transfer. Just because colleges are ranked by a magazine does not meant that there are no brilliant students at lower ranked schools, and it certainly does not mean those school will be a cake walk for anyone.

The answer to this depends entirely on what your child wants to study and what kind of school is a good fit. You don't randomly pick schools off of a global ranking list. That makes zero sense.

How about Shenandoah University or Randolph-Macon College?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lehigh

Sorry, not any more. Lehigh is still fairly difficult to get into. It's a match for many, but not a safety even for top kids.

Lehigh is a safety for a high stats kid. Many kids with mediocre grades get in.

Many kids with mediocre grades do get in. However, Lehigh may yield protect or otherwise not accept kids who do not sufficiently demonstrate interest. (My kid last year with 1510 did not get in.)