Anonymous
Post 05/16/2026 09:42     Subject: Prestigious but High Acceptance Rate Schools?
Anonymous wrote:Penn state, any UNC, Indiana, Wisconsin, uconn, suny Binghamton, Midwestern slacs like macalaster, maybe oberlin


A few posts upstream the OP literally said the schools should be ones that even the most backwoods relative has heard of.

I don’t know if you’ve ever dared to stray away from the Eastern time zone, but I can assure you nobody in Gallup, New Mexico is doing a pro/con list comparing Oberlin & Binghamton.
Anonymous
Post 05/15/2026 15:59     Subject: Prestigious but High Acceptance Rate Schools?
Anonymous wrote:Man, this board loves to gatekeep which schools are “elite” or “prestigious” or “selective” more than anything.


So true. But the most important variable is rarely discussed: the level of engagement, dedication and time that the student invests. Any one of the schools discussed on this thread could get a student to a T5 graduate school in their field, if they doggedly pursue it. No one can gatekeep that.
Anonymous
Post 05/15/2026 14:49     Subject: Prestigious but High Acceptance Rate Schools?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:GW isn’t a safety school, VT and UMD are not peers and neither are more prestigious than case western, and no, obviously UC Merced doesn’t have prestige just because US News wanted to give Pell grant and first gen kids love. Average sat is like a 200. Some of these posts are out there. And Rutgers, Uconn, Penn state etc aren’t prestigious. Remember?


GW has a 47 percent acceptance rate. [/quote

Yeah, that does not make it a safety school as most kids are rejected. Univ of Washington at 49% for Arts and Sciences is not a safety school either. For a true safety, you need over 50%. I would go with UMass Amherst - not exactly prestigious but the food is amazing and it's located in a beautiful part of the country.


OP didn’t ask for safeties. OP asked for prestigious with high acceptance rate.
Anonymous
Post 05/15/2026 13:23     Subject: Prestigious but High Acceptance Rate Schools?
Anonymous wrote:Seeking to make a list of schools that are generally well-known, respected, or have strong “name recognition” but are not ultra-selective.

I’ve heard Penn State and Purdue are two. What are others?


This really depends on your geographic area, demographics, target major etc. The general admit rates really give a false sense of ease or difficulty for many schools.
Anonymous
Post 05/15/2026 12:59     Subject: Prestigious but High Acceptance Rate Schools?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:GW isn’t a safety school, VT and UMD are not peers and neither are more prestigious than case western, and no, obviously UC Merced doesn’t have prestige just because US News wanted to give Pell grant and first gen kids love. Average sat is like a 200. Some of these posts are out there. And Rutgers, Uconn, Penn state etc aren’t prestigious. Remember?


GW has a 47 percent acceptance rate.


Yeah, that does not make it a safety school as most kids are rejected. Univ of Washington at 49% for Arts and Sciences is not a safety school either. For a true safety, you need over 50%. I would go with UMass Amherst - not exactly prestigious but the food is amazing and it's located in a beautiful part of the country.
Anonymous
Post 05/15/2026 12:54     Subject: Prestigious but High Acceptance Rate Schools?
Anonymous wrote:Fordham. Solid school and great alumni network, especially in the NY area.


A lot of the Jesuit schools actually.
Anonymous
Post 05/15/2026 11:04     Subject: Prestigious but High Acceptance Rate Schools?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:GW isn’t a safety school, VT and UMD are not peers and neither are more prestigious than case western, and no, obviously UC Merced doesn’t have prestige just because US News wanted to give Pell grant and first gen kids love. Average sat is like a 200. Some of these posts are out there. And Rutgers, Uconn, Penn state etc aren’t prestigious. Remember?


GW has a 47 percent acceptance rate.


And averages of 1410 and 3.7 uw. What percentage of high schoolers call 1410 and 3.7 averages safety numbers? VT’s acceptance rate is 55%, 1340. 1395 is the engineering schools average. Penn state 57% 1330 average, UConn 52% 1325 average, UMD 45% 1460, CWRU 35% 1480 and so on. If these are all peers then that’s one wide net