Anonymous
Post 11/20/2025 22:31     Subject: Did anyone's kid skip applying to a safety?
Maybe. It’s possible that my kid (24) had only reaches and targets. This was after she got in very early to an in state school that might have been considered to be a lottery (VT for engineering).
Anonymous
Post 11/20/2025 22:26     Subject: Did anyone's kid skip applying to a safety?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:What is considered a “safety” will be different for different kids. Given how competitive the application process is for selective schools, she should apply to a couple that are slightly less selective than her top choices.

Thank you. What are some suggestions for safeties for her at this stage of admissions?
Bama, UT Dallas. They should also give huge scholarships.
Anonymous
Post 11/20/2025 22:15     Subject: Did anyone's kid skip applying to a safety?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I know few students who considered vtech was a safety and got waitlisted or rejected. However got into public ivy’s and ivy’s and top 20 schools. Very high gpa’s, scores, rigors. And in state.


What were the stats?
This makes me nervous. We are in state with high rigor/ scores etc




34/35 act 4.5 gpa. I wouldn’t worry. Even though got waitlisted vtech. Would have never attended anyway.
Anonymous
Post 11/20/2025 22:04     Subject: Did anyone's kid skip applying to a safety?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:A few years ago my kid applied to 4 Ivies, Vandy, Northwestern, BC, Notre Dame, Georgetown, UVA, & Michigan (in-state).

I tried to convince kid that a couple true safeties were necessary. I recommended places with significant automatic merit aid like Kansas, Nebraska, & Oklahoma.

But kid said he didn’t work his butt off in high school to end up at a school he could have gotten into with much less work. He was prepared to take a gap year & apply all over again if he got shut out. But he got accepted at 4 & waitlisted at 3. Everything worked out fine.


Where did he get in?


In at Northwestern, BC, ND, Mich.

Waitlisted at Dartmouth, Vandy, UVA.
Anonymous
Post 11/20/2025 21:57     Subject: Did anyone's kid skip applying to a safety?
Anonymous wrote:A few years ago my kid applied to 4 Ivies, Vandy, Northwestern, BC, Notre Dame, Georgetown, UVA, & Michigan (in-state).

I tried to convince kid that a couple true safeties were necessary. I recommended places with significant automatic merit aid like Kansas, Nebraska, & Oklahoma.

But kid said he didn’t work his butt off in high school to end up at a school he could have gotten into with much less work. He was prepared to take a gap year & apply all over again if he got shut out. But he got accepted at 4 & waitlisted at 3. Everything worked out fine.


Where did he get in?
Anonymous
Post 11/20/2025 21:56     Subject: Did anyone's kid skip applying to a safety?
A few years ago my kid applied to 4 Ivies, Vandy, Northwestern, BC, Notre Dame, Georgetown, UVA, & Michigan (in-state).

I tried to convince kid that a couple true safeties were necessary. I recommended places with significant automatic merit aid like Kansas, Nebraska, & Oklahoma.

But kid said he didn’t work his butt off in high school to end up at a school he could have gotten into with much less work. He was prepared to take a gap year & apply all over again if he got shut out. But he got accepted at 4 & waitlisted at 3. Everything worked out fine.
Anonymous
Post 11/20/2025 21:42     Subject: Did anyone's kid skip applying to a safety?
Anonymous wrote:I know few students who considered vtech was a safety and got waitlisted or rejected. However got into public ivy’s and ivy’s and top 20 schools. Very high gpa’s, scores, rigors. And in state.


What were the stats?
This makes me nervous. We are in state with high rigor/ scores etc
Anonymous
Post 11/20/2025 21:37     Subject: Re:Did anyone's kid skip applying to a safety?
Anonymous wrote:My high stats kid with perfect grades did not get into any of her reaches and not even some of her targets. Got into a very good school. Rolling admisisons at Pitt, U of Minnesota, U of Arizona and more. I would do at least one true safety - make sure it's a decent school in a good college town/area so that if it is the last choice - all will be well. My kid got into their safety today and every time it happens with one of my kids there is just a huge sense of relief because you know they are going to college somewhere. My kids all feel it too. College admissions is weird and unless shes an elite athlete, scholar or something - there are no guarantees.


What is the definition of an elite athlete- that still doesn’t mean a guarantee to a safety or a target , does it?
Anonymous
Post 11/20/2025 21:07     Subject: Did anyone's kid skip applying to a safety?
Towson and temple
Anonymous
Post 11/20/2025 20:15     Subject: Did anyone's kid skip applying to a safety?
Anonymous wrote:I know few students who considered vtech was a safety and got waitlisted or rejected. However got into public ivy’s and ivy’s and top 20 schools. Very high gpa’s, scores, rigors. And in state.


It’s an easier admit from oos.
Anonymous
Post 11/20/2025 20:15     Subject: Did anyone's kid skip applying to a safety?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:What is considered a “safety” will be different for different kids. Given how competitive the application process is for selective schools, she should apply to a couple that are slightly less selective than her top choices.

Thank you. What are some suggestions for safeties for her at this stage of admissions?


Pitt comes to mind

I love Pitt, however would you be willing to pay $50k+ OOS?


Probably not. But I suspect she’d pay $30k with those stats. That’s a fair price for a quality safety.


15K the top award for arts and sciences this year. But it is likely too late to get merit.
Anonymous
Post 11/20/2025 19:55     Subject: Did anyone's kid skip applying to a safety?
I know few students who considered vtech was a safety and got waitlisted or rejected. However got into public ivy’s and ivy’s and top 20 schools. Very high gpa’s, scores, rigors. And in state.
Anonymous
Post 11/20/2025 19:54     Subject: Did anyone's kid skip applying to a safety?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:What is considered a “safety” will be different for different kids. Given how competitive the application process is for selective schools, she should apply to a couple that are slightly less selective than her top choices.

Thank you. What are some suggestions for safeties for her at this stage of admissions?


Pitt comes to mind

I love Pitt, however would you be willing to pay $50k+ OOS?


Probably not. But I suspect she’d pay $30k with those stats. That’s a fair price for a quality safety.


Pitt is not as generous with merit as they used to be. In other threads kids with equal or higher stats consistently maxed out at $15k in merit per year. I think Pitt has become much more popular.
Anonymous
Post 11/20/2025 19:41     Subject: Did anyone's kid skip applying to a safety?
Anonymous wrote:Definitely apply to some safeties. You don’t want the kid to end up at local community college due to bad luck and go down the wrong path. Nothing wrong with community college but would be a shame


A high stats kid at my kid's high school got rejected or waitlisted at all of her schools, but did get into the the Guaranteed Transfer Program at Cornell. She ended up having to enroll in our local community college in order to enter Cornell as a sophomore, but then got sidetracked and decided to just attend a local college instead.
Anonymous
Post 11/20/2025 19:33     Subject: Did anyone's kid skip applying to a safety?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:What is considered a “safety” will be different for different kids. Given how competitive the application process is for selective schools, she should apply to a couple that are slightly less selective than her top choices.

Thank you. What are some suggestions for safeties for her at this stage of admissions?


Pitt comes to mind

I love Pitt, however would you be willing to pay $50k+ OOS?


Probably not. But I suspect she’d pay $30k with those stats. That’s a fair price for a quality safety.