My ds just graduated. First of all, no one says likely instead of safety...except for the people who use phrases like vertically challenged to describe someone who is short.

He had a 1500 on the SAT and a 4.2 GPA with 7 APs. He applied to Pitt, UConn, Bucknell, Lehigh, and URochester. He was accepted at all and chose Lehigh.

Oberlin will be an easy admit from now on

My TJ kid (4.6 GPA, 1550 SAT) had GMU as their safety.

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Kid obviously has a preference for LAC-like. WM is fine. No need for UVA. Of course, I'm trying to get my TJ kid to take SLACs seriously.

I think the message here is WM is not a certainty for TJ. There is no harm applying to UVA as well, as an in-state peer institution.

For TJ every year is a reminder how variable and opaque college acceptances are: examples include candidates being accepted into a T20 school but not VT, kids you thought were a sure bet for UVA based on Naviance stats but did not get in etc.

I have heard that TJ kids have the best GPAs of any high school (with more than 10 or so students) at both UVA and W&M. W&M seems to be very positive on TJ as long as they have reasonable GPA and high standardized tests. UVA seems to be getting more selective with TJ despite the good track record on GPA. But this year, it looks like the number of TJ kids choosing to go to UVA has gone down significantly.

Anonymous wrote:I mean, I don’t know, if I were in state Virginia I’d apply to both WM and UVA. There is no downside. Can’t be too careful.

In California you can just check a box to apply to multiple UC schools. It is tougher here, but easier than it used to be.

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Anonymous wrote:DD had a 4.25 W GPA & 33 ACT from a large NOVA public. Her safeties were VT & JMU. Her places that were somewhere in between safety & likely were Pitt & Villanova. She got into all of them. Goes to UVA now.

What year was that? Things are changing quickly it seems.

Last year. I do think that Pitt, for example, has already become harder to get into since she applied. So have all the other schools. But I'd still probably keep these schools in the same spots for her. Beyond her stats, she had really good extracurriculars and coursework and is a strong writer.

Anonymous wrote:DD had a 4.25 W GPA & 33 ACT from a large NOVA public. Her safeties were VT & JMU. Her places that were somewhere in between safety & likely were Pitt & Villanova. She got into all of them. Goes to UVA now.

What year was that? Things are changing quickly it seems.

Be careful with SLACS. Some of them are so small that they don’t have room for even the best students.

DD had a 4.25 W GPA & 33 ACT from a large NOVA public. Her safeties were VT & JMU. Her places that were somewhere in between safety & likely were Pitt & Villanova. She got into all of them. Goes to UVA now.

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Anonymous wrote:TJ rising senior. 4.02 WGPA/ 1520 SAT (740/780), 800 Math 2, Physics and Literature SAT 2. Middle of the pack for TJ. Will apply to Pitt rolling admission at the beginning of the school year as the school. We can afford it and they will almost certainly get in (my definition of a true safety). And if they are rejected, we will know in time to recalibrate. Wooster and St. Olaf as likely. Matches include CWRU (arts and sciences, not engineering), Kenton, Oberlin, Macalaster, WM.

Not likely to do reaches. Does not want UVA, and we can’t afford private w/o merit aid.

Kid should at least apply to UVA then. This is nuts.

Why? This particular kid really likes WM, and UVA is not a good match for a number of reasons.

He should apply to both. I realize it's a TJ GPA, but a 4.02 weighted GPA is very low for both William & Mary and UVA.

My kids guidance counselor has looked at the 2019 admit stat and feels like he has a good shot. Naviance says average TJ admit for class of 2018 to WM was 4.16/1519. 144 admitted/169 applicants (more than 85%). Being a male applicant helps. Specific things in this kid’s application also give him a boost. WM really loves TJ kids. WM also places more emphasis on test scores. Vs. UVA which puts more on GPA. Of my kid doesn’t get into WM, they won’t get into UVA. And it will be especially bad this year, with UVA introducing ED— which my kid would definitely not use.

But mostly— there are specific reasons why UVA is a bad choice for my kid. UVA is good, perfect, wonderful, hangs the moon, etc., etc. that doesn’t make it a good choice for every kid.

Thank you for this voice of sanity and self-awareness in a sea of hysteria. Namaste and go with God. (from a college counselor and former admissions staffer)

I mean, I don’t know, if I were in state Virginia I’d apply to both WM and UVA. There is no downside. Can’t be too careful.

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Kid obviously has a preference for LAC-like. WM is fine. No need for UVA. Of course, I'm trying to get my TJ kid to take SLACs seriously.

I think the message here is WM is not a certainty for TJ. There is no harm applying to UVA as well, as an in-state peer institution.

For TJ every year is a reminder how variable and opaque college acceptances are: examples include candidates being accepted into a T20 school but not VT, kids you thought were a sure bet for UVA based on Naviance stats but did not get in etc.

Anonymous wrote:"Safety" is really old terminology OP. It is now called a "Likely"

I think that "Safety" and "Likely" are two different things.

Safety is a school that you know 100% that your kid will get into (or that has rolling admissions and they've already gotten in long before the deadlines for other schools), and 100% that they'll be able to afford. A likely is a school that accepts a decent portion of kids, where your scores and profile are well above average.

I don't have a strong student, so his safeties were schools that have automatic admissions with certain stats, and also either automatic aid or low enough tuition.

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Anonymous wrote:TJ rising senior. 4.02 WGPA/ 1520 SAT (740/780), 800 Math 2, Physics and Literature SAT 2. Middle of the pack for TJ. Will apply to Pitt rolling admission at the beginning of the school year as the school. We can afford it and they will almost certainly get in (my definition of a true safety). And if they are rejected, we will know in time to recalibrate. Wooster and St. Olaf as likely. Matches include CWRU (arts and sciences, not engineering), Kenton, Oberlin, Macalaster, WM.

Not likely to do reaches. Does not want UVA, and we can’t afford private w/o merit aid.

Kid should at least apply to UVA then. This is nuts.

Kid obviously has a preference for LAC-like. WM is fine. No need for UVA. Of course, I'm trying to get my TJ kid to take SLACs seriously.

That's fine. Just be aware that a lot of students who wanted to get into both UVA and W&M and thought they were "safe" did not get in this past year. The SCHEV reports indicate that 75th percentile GPA of fall ENTERING 2018 students (not ACCEPTED students, which is a higher figure) was a 4.43, the median a 4.24, and bottom 25% was a 4.05. UVA's stats were higher with first year entering students at a 4.48 GPA for 75th percentile, 4.33 for Median and 4.16 for 25th. We, too, had a high scoring kid and got zero merit across the board (generally, the more elite, the less merit the institution has to offer) and no financial aid. So we were thrilled with UVA and would have been thrilled with W&M but DD preferred the University feeling of UVA.

UMich, about 75% got in. Top public in MoCo