The fallout of test optional is that no one can adequately or rationally determine what a target or a safety school is. It schools are flooded with applications, their acceptance rate will be artificially low. Doesn't mean those applicants are qualified.

Test optionally sounded great to some, but it has wreaked havoc on this process.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP - Re-read your post and would recommend checking out Santa Clara. Not too hard to get into, mid-sized, and great weather.

Santa Clara has become very hard to get into.

No it hasn't. It sounds like a good fallback for OP.

I was about to suggest Harvard, but then I realized that the spec of dust on my screen made 25% look like 2.5%. So, in short, never mind.

Anonymous wrote:Occidental as a backup to the Claremont schools, it has the prettiest campus we saw.

But the immediate area around it in Eagle Rock is not safe

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know a kid going to Whitman in Washington State. His best friend from high school is at Brown -- it seems like a school for that kind of a kid.

What is 'that kind of kid'?

Possibly the kind of kid who also likes Brown?

Occidental as a backup to the Claremont schools, it has the prettiest campus we saw.

Anonymous wrote:I know a kid going to Whitman in Washington State. His best friend from high school is at Brown -- it seems like a school for that kind of a kid.

What is 'that kind of kid'?

Given the schools you're looking at, I recommend checking out Davidson. It's hard to get into, but easier than some of the Claremont Colleges (Claremont McKenna and Pomona), particularly if opting for ED. For somewhat less competitive schools, my DS absolutely loved Macalester and Brandeis.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:South Carolina

*Honors College

+1

Anonymous wrote:I wonder if Virginia Tech has gotten so much more competitive that if interested, ED is the way to go. I personally would not consider it a safety for anyone. No skin in the game.

+1
No way is VT a safety. I couldn't believe my own DC got in - first choice school. We were all thrilled.

I wonder if Virginia Tech has gotten so much more competitive that if interested, ED is the way to go. I personally would not consider it a safety for anyone. No skin in the game.

Virginia Tech

Anonymous wrote:Wake Forest and Richmond

Neither of these fall into that category.

Try TECH, UMD, Clemson, Syracuse and definitely Miami

Anonymous wrote:OP you're on to the million dollar question For so many kids, sweet spot is larger than the largest SLAC and a third of the size of the big universities, and a safety...
Agree with the other suggestions for sure. Once you have a few potentials, a visit can make all the difference. Good luck!

+1

So far my kid has been deferred to schools that have been mentioned in the thread and only accepted to much larger safeties (I’d say a safety has a much higher than 25% acceptance rate). In the past couple of years, schools with 25% acceptance rates have likely dropped into the teens and that trend will probably continue since so far it sounds like application rates are growing year over year.

OP you're on to the million dollar question For so many kids, sweet spot is larger than the largest SLAC and a third of the size of the big universities, and a safety...
Agree with the other suggestions for sure. Once you have a few potentials, a visit can make all the difference. Good luck!