College Application Commandments: Love Thy Safety School!

In my  Top Three Tips for applying to college, I mentioned that you must love your safety school. I’ve talked about it in other posts, but today is all about your safety school (and why it rocks!).

In good SAT form (GOOD LUCK MARCH SAT TAKERS), I’m going to start with a personal story.


A few nights ago, I went out to dinner with a friend of mine who is currently a senior in high school.
We talked about the typical end of high school topics (prom, drama, friends, the desperate clawing need to get out of the high school bubble), and of course, College.

We discussed the schools she had applied to, and the benefits of each of them. I told her “I could legitimately see you being really happy at any of those schools”

To which she replied,

“Well yeah, that’s why I applied to them”


Imagine how much my heart swelled. Just. Imagine. It.
Now this is a list of some pretty prestigious, incredible schools. It had mainly liberal arts, a public school, and an Ivy.
But we talked for a while about her true-safety safety school, and she was extremely enthusiastic about it, and could list a lot of reasons that she likes the school.

Once again, this is a girl after my own heart.

But I digress.

Why does this applicant make my heart swell?
1. She picked schools that she felt she was a good fit for, personality wise.

2. She applied to incredibly challenging schools due to academic fit, but prestige was not her deciding factor (though the Ivy was accompanied by some pretty fantastic gesticulations).

3.  She was genuinely excited about her safety schools.

What qualifies as a safety school?
A safety school is a school that you are overqualified for. Your board scores are well above the middle 50%, your GPA is above what they require, and you can without a doubt afford the school. For highly competitive applicants you will want to make sure you have at least 1 safety with at least a 45-50+ percent acceptance rate. It is a school that, without a doubt, you should get into.


If I’m certain to get in, that means I don’t have to do anything… Right?

Wouldn’t that be lovely? Just because on paper you’re over qualified doesn’t mean that you’re guaranteed to get in. Colleges don’t like to be a student’s safety school, and they can usually tell when they are. To increase the yield of admitted applicants who enroll, many schools reject or waitlist the incredibly overqualified applicants. (For example, someone who ends up attending UPenn might be waitlisted by Lehigh). It’s colloquially known as “Tufts syndrome” (because Tufts was a bit famous for doing this back in the day, though they will claim that they no longer need to do this now).
To avoid this fate you must express interest. Schools track interest in applicants as a way to try to increase yield. Expressing interest is easy. The most common way is to tour the school. There’s a reason there are sign ins. Other ways to express interest are to interview (alumni or formal), go to an information session (either at the school or locally), or simply to email your regional dean (ask a question that lets them talk about their school in a positive light, mention a program you’re interested in).
This also is why you must be specific and careful on your “Why ______” essays. Show a passion for the school, and make sure you’re genuine in your interest. Don’t fake it, find things you really love about the school.


If it’s my last choice, why should I spend time looking for a school that I love?

Just because the school is your “last resort” (though this is untrue for many people, I know someone who’s safety was genuinely her second choice out of about 10 schools) doesn’t mean that you should hate it. Though you hope that you aren’t going to end up attending, that doesn’t mean that there isn’t a real chance that you will attend. You’re spending 30-70 dollars on the application, and a few hours on the supplements, shouldn’t you actually like the school?

Your safety school may be, on paper, your last resort. But that doesn’t mean that it deserves no respect. You may very well end up there, and nobody likes the kid at orientation who is moping around in his Harvard sweatshirt saying things like “I’m going to get a 4.0 this semester and transfer to the type of school I deserve”
Don’t be that kid. Love your safety; it will make your life way easier.