Safety Schools

Safety Schools:

• Are not synonymous with “last choice school.” A safety school is just a college on your list whose prior admissions statistics are close to or possibly slightly below your own academic record. But just because that is the case does not mean it has to be your last choice school.
• Are just as important as your first choice school. Of course, your top choice school is what you are striving for, but you also need be happy attending one of your safety schools if that is the best option.
• Should not be added to your list if you do not want to attend. Many students make the mistake of just adding a couple safety schools to round out the list without looking into if they would actually want to go if accepted. 

Your college search process should be thorough and thoughtful. You should be completely happy attending every last school on your list whether it is your first choice or your last. You’ll be spending a lot of time (and, unfortunately, probably a lot of money) perfecting your college applications, so you don’t want to exert effort into something you’re not really feeling. 

If you find that you can’t decide on safety schools that you are happy with, take a second to reflect on whether you are gravitating towards name brand schools solely for their name. We assure you that there are similar college environments out there— you just have to be open to them.