Anonymous
Post 01/15/2026 05:25     Subject: If you had a high stats kid from a strong local private . . .
Anonymous wrote:Going through this right now, and it seems like the only real targets for high stats kids are public universities. It’s really hard to find private universities that are targets because they are either “reaches for all” or safeties.


My kids weren’t quite as high stats but I think cost, prestige and DI probably play more of a role in why it feels hard to have a private universities as targets. If a kid has the kind of stats where they could be a strong contender for T15, would they actually be willing to attend, and the family pay full freight, for a private university in the 40-100 range? The public university target probably has enough prestige, maybe the added bonus of honors and/or merit. The private universities, while we don’t want to think of it as a business, have to make their numbers both in terms of how many to accept that will accept them back, and at what price point between merit and/or financial aid. IMO that’s why demonstrated interest along with building a class with a decent amount of ED plays a role.
Anonymous
Post 01/15/2026 02:11     Subject: If you had a high stats kid from a strong local private . . .
My kid got in ED to a WASP
And into Pitt honors + $15k/yr

Had ED not worked out -
Yale
Brown
Wash U
Macalester
Haverford
W&M (OOS)
UMd
(School wanted her to add Kenyon and Lafayette- she declined)
Anonymous
Post 01/15/2026 00:01     Subject: If you had a high stats kid from a strong local private . . .
University of Rochester is definitely a target for high stats kids...you just have to demonstrate interest.
Anonymous
Post 01/04/2026 17:02     Subject: If you had a high stats kid from a strong local private . . .
Anonymous wrote:High stats unhooked is hard....


Let’s not be so negative. High stats unhooked is clearly a better position than low stats unhooked.
Anonymous
Post 01/04/2026 17:01     Subject: If you had a high stats kid from a strong local private . . .
Anonymous wrote:Going through this right now, and it seems like the only real targets for high stats kids are public universities. It’s really hard to find private universities that are targets because they are either “reaches for all” or safeties.


I have a kid with stats at or above the 75th percentile for all the T5 and this is my conclusion as well, at least for RD. I think for ED it might be different.
Anonymous
Post 01/04/2026 16:33     Subject: If you had a high stats kid from a strong local private . . .
High stats unhooked is hard....
Anonymous
Post 01/04/2026 16:11     Subject: If you had a high stats kid from a strong local private . . .
Anonymous wrote:Going through this right now, and it seems like the only real targets for high stats kids are public universities. It’s really hard to find private universities that are targets because they are either “reaches for all” or safeties.
Anonymous
Post 01/04/2026 16:08     Subject: If you had a high stats kid from a strong local private . . .
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Case Western?


That’s on the list of schools to investigate. It’s a reach right?

At this point I am really still trying to figure out how to know what category a school is in and how many in each category people usually apply to.


Case is a target for a high stats kid. Show DI, very important.
Anonymous
Post 01/04/2026 15:59     Subject: If you had a high stats kid from a strong local private . . .
Going through this right now, and it seems like the only real targets for high stats kids are public universities. It’s really hard to find private universities that are targets because they are either “reaches for all” or safeties.
Anonymous
Post 01/04/2026 15:42     Subject: If you had a high stats kid from a strong local private . . .
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:My kid just got into their SCEA school and had a long list of other “reachy” schools to apply to had they not. My advice is to rely on your school counselors. They were very upfront that my kid had the stats/activities to apply anywhere. Some classmates that were also great students but not at the very top got different guidance.


OP here,

I'm not questioning the school counselors, we just haven't met with them yet, and I'm looking down the road, but we'll definitely take the counselor's advice if it conflicts with DCUM.

My kid is one of those kids where it's worth applying to the very reachy school, but wondering what kinds of schools to look at for target and safety, and how many we need to find.


The way to do this is to determine the attributes that your kid likes in the reach-y school. Dartmouth is rural, Cornell is in a small town, Columbia and Harvard are in big cities. Likely there is no reason to apply to these four schools other than to brag. If your kid prefers a Harvard or Columbia then look for other schools in cities. If your kid prefers Dartmouth, then look at other smaller schools in smaller towns. Geography is important - if they want to be in the south, then Vanderbilt, Emory and similar would be on the same list. Once you cut down for semester versus quarter, size, setting (rural, suburban, urban) curriculum (open or rigid) etc, you can cull a list pretty easily.


I'm trying to figure out the categories. So, for example, my kid likes schools that have engineering and are in or near big cities, that are midsized to large, and that are in regions that have four seasons and are lgbt friendly.

She likes Northwestern -- clearly a reach.

She likes also really likes UMD and Pitt. But I don't know what category those are in.



Pitt is a likely if she gets app in early, MD for engineering probably a target.


Likely is above safety right? So, what would be a safety for this kid. VCU?


I believe "likely" is just another nicer term for "safety." This is how our college counseling team speaks.
Anonymous
Post 01/04/2026 15:33     Subject: If you had a high stats kid from a strong local private . . .
Reaches: Tufts, Carleton, Williams, Vassar, Amherst

Targets: Weslayan, Colgate, Colby, Lehigh

Likelies: Lafayette, F&M, Hobart

He applied to Carleton ED as an athletic recruit and was admitted.
Anonymous
Post 01/04/2026 15:31     Subject: If you had a high stats kid from a strong local private . . .
A lot depends on your kid’s relative class rank. A GPA is meaningless without context regarding school, class rank, etc. Most private schools don’t rank but if they have a cum laude chapter, that signals the top 10%-20%. If your kid’s school has a cum laude chapter, maybe see where the cum laude kids have landed to get an idea?
Anonymous
Post 01/04/2026 15:26     Subject: If you had a high stats kid from a strong local private . . .
Anonymous wrote:Case Western?


That’s on the list of schools to investigate. It’s a reach right?

At this point I am really still trying to figure out how to know what category a school is in and how many in each category people usually apply to.
Anonymous
Post 01/04/2026 13:30     Subject: If you had a high stats kid from a strong local private . . .
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:My kid just got into their SCEA school and had a long list of other “reachy” schools to apply to had they not. My advice is to rely on your school counselors. They were very upfront that my kid had the stats/activities to apply anywhere. Some classmates that were also great students but not at the very top got different guidance.


OP here,

I'm not questioning the school counselors, we just haven't met with them yet, and I'm looking down the road, but we'll definitely take the counselor's advice if it conflicts with DCUM.

My kid is one of those kids where it's worth applying to the very reachy school, but wondering what kinds of schools to look at for target and safety, and how many we need to find.


The way to do this is to determine the attributes that your kid likes in the reach-y school. Dartmouth is rural, Cornell is in a small town, Columbia and Harvard are in big cities. Likely there is no reason to apply to these four schools other than to brag. If your kid prefers a Harvard or Columbia then look for other schools in cities. If your kid prefers Dartmouth, then look at other smaller schools in smaller towns. Geography is important - if they want to be in the south, then Vanderbilt, Emory and similar would be on the same list. Once you cut down for semester versus quarter, size, setting (rural, suburban, urban) curriculum (open or rigid) etc, you can cull a list pretty easily.


I'm trying to figure out the categories. So, for example, my kid likes schools that have engineering and are in or near big cities, that are midsized to large, and that are in regions that have four seasons and are lgbt friendly.

She likes Northwestern -- clearly a reach.

She likes also really likes UMD and Pitt. But I don't know what category those are in.



Pitt is a likely if she gets app in early, MD for engineering probably a target.


Likely is above safety right? So, what would be a safety for this kid. VCU?


Likely is safety. There are only three categories.
Anonymous
Post 01/04/2026 13:26     Subject: If you had a high stats kid from a strong local private . . .
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:My kid just got into their SCEA school and had a long list of other “reachy” schools to apply to had they not. My advice is to rely on your school counselors. They were very upfront that my kid had the stats/activities to apply anywhere. Some classmates that were also great students but not at the very top got different guidance.


OP here,

I'm not questioning the school counselors, we just haven't met with them yet, and I'm looking down the road, but we'll definitely take the counselor's advice if it conflicts with DCUM.

My kid is one of those kids where it's worth applying to the very reachy school, but wondering what kinds of schools to look at for target and safety, and how many we need to find.


The way to do this is to determine the attributes that your kid likes in the reach-y school. Dartmouth is rural, Cornell is in a small town, Columbia and Harvard are in big cities. Likely there is no reason to apply to these four schools other than to brag. If your kid prefers a Harvard or Columbia then look for other schools in cities. If your kid prefers Dartmouth, then look at other smaller schools in smaller towns. Geography is important - if they want to be in the south, then Vanderbilt, Emory and similar would be on the same list. Once you cut down for semester versus quarter, size, setting (rural, suburban, urban) curriculum (open or rigid) etc, you can cull a list pretty easily.


I'm trying to figure out the categories. So, for example, my kid likes schools that have engineering and are in or near big cities, that are midsized to large, and that are in regions that have four seasons and are lgbt friendly.

She likes Northwestern -- clearly a reach.

She likes also really likes UMD and Pitt. But I don't know what category those are in.



If you go to a good school in a good area in MD, then UMD used to be a safety to low target for high stats kids. But it has become a high target to low reach these days. Pitt is a safety.