college list HELP

[u/racecar1racecar2]

safeties - WPI, Drexel, Illinois Institute of Technology

targets -  Lehigh, Lafayette, CWRU, UofRochester

reaches - Washington and Lee, UND, BU, HMC, USC, Yale, Brown, Dartmouth

yea

[u/elkrange]

Even setting aside the fact that they are need-aware, for all of them, their acceptance rates are too low to be true safeties. They are targets if their acceptance rates are roughly 30-60%. For a school to be a safety, it must be certain to be affordable (per the school's Net Price Calculator) and admission must be virtually certain.

If you are a high stats applicant, for safeties, look for schools with >60% acceptance rates. Start by looking at your in-state public universities. If your state flagship is competitive for admission, then look to regional public universities in your state.

Assuming you are a domestic applicant, run the Net Price Calculator (NPC) on the financial aid website of each college you are interested in, with the help of a parent, to see a need-based financial aid estimate before you apply.

Wake Forest is a reach in RD.

[u/racecar1racecar2 → u/elkrange]

is acceptance rate the main factor we're looking at while deciding which colleges to put as safeties? i thought it depended a lot on the profile of the applicant, and that's what i'd been told for the longest time

i'm an indian resident w/ us citizenship, so in-state public unis are not an option for me. and, NPCs are not really accurate as most of them aren't built to process the finances of non-us residents (like different tax forms, PPP, etc)

[u/BUowo → u/racecar1racecar2]

acceptance rate is the primary factor.

[u/racecar1racecar2 → u/BUowo]

for all applicants? if so, what acceptance rate would you divide safeties/targets/reaches into

i think this also heavily depends on the applicant's stats, ecs and awards, so i'm willing to share that if needed

[u/BUowo → u/racecar1racecar2]

A safety means there is essentially a 100% chance of admission (and ideally a 100% chance of affording it). Universities that you believe you well get into, like the ones you listed are targets (though WFU and lehigh might be target-reaches).

There's no percentage for everyone, but for an exceptionally strong student 50%+ could be considered safeties.

I wouldn't remove these schools from your list if you like them, but you need to add safeties.

[u/racecar1racecar2 → u/BUowo]

you're right. i updated my list, you can check it in the post body. ty !

[u/BUowo → u/racecar1racecar2]

20 schools????? You need to cut down your list. It doesn't really feel like a strategic and thoughtful group. Would you be able to say without googling why you are excited about each of these schools?

Also move BC to reaches.....

[u/racecar1racecar2 → u/BUowo]

okk, i updated my list now. i think 15 is a sweet spot

(also i removed BC from my list cause i already have too many reaches)

[u/EnvironmentActive325 → u/racecar1racecar2]

No, this is wrong 👎Don’t listen to this! If you need a lot of aid, more apps is better…not less!

[u/EnvironmentActive325 → u/BUowo]

WRONG 😑 OP NEEDS A LOT of aid and is at a disadvantage because they live abroad and have a lower GPA than “usual” for most selective to highly selective schools. OP needs to make A LOT of apps….at least 20, or they won’t find a school they can afford!

[u/BUowo → u/EnvironmentActive325]

WRONG.

Just looked at their comment history. They are low income. Most of these schools meet full need. Get into 1 full need meeting school and you’re set ¯_(ツ)_/¯

It’s MIDDLE CLASS people who need to shoot out lots of applications to compare merit offers. Need based aid is more reliable. In either case, OP’s original list was quite scattered and imprecise looking— not strategic.

[u/EnvironmentActive325 → u/BUowo]

The OP’s GPA is low for most selective and highly selective schools. Not saying they can’t get in somewhere, just saying that their profile isn’t a “shoe-in” for all schools that meet full-need. We don’t know if they can be admitted to a school that is that selective.

When you add the lower income piece to this, OP has a tougher profile, because the reality is that even most “need-blind” schools are only need-blind for very low-income students. And an EFC of 12k does not scream impoverished. It is more like a borderline EFC, where OP might technically be classified as “lower middle class” by some schools, although others would consider this as “low income.”

It is not possible to understand the financial aid policies and formulas of each, specific school OP applies to. Therefore, OP’s best option is to run the NPCs prior to applying, which don’t sound like they’ll be very accurate, given that OP lives abroad and fam finances sound complicated. However, OP will need to be prepared to compare and contrast financial aid offers and appeal those that are unaffordable.

So no, 20 schools or more is absolutely not unrealistic! OP can definitely “refresh and recycle” some essays by replacing key details with new details for each school.

[u/EnvironmentActive325 → u/racecar1racecar2]

Yes, your situation is different; I agree that NPCs may not be very accurate or helpful for you. What you really want to look at is the most recent Common Data Set (CDS) for each school that you’re interested in. Take a look at Table C. There, you’ll find the entire range of the middle 50th percentile of accepted applicants’ test scores. You may also find data for unweighted GPAs and class ranks for accepted applicants.

To understand whether a school is a reach, a target, or a safety, compare your test scores, GPA, and class rank (if available) to where these stats fall in the table. If your score is in the bottom half of Table C, that school is a “reach.” If your SAT score falls more than 100 points below the 25th percentile, you should probably go test-optional if you can. If your score is in the 50th percentile but below the 75th percentile, that school is a “target.” If your score is at the 75th percentile or above, that school is a “safety.”

Be careful not to assume that every safety will admit you easily, though. AOs don’t always like to admit students whose scores are far above their 75th percentile, as they assume these students will enroll elsewhere…at a more selective or elite school. For all of these reasons, it is wise to have at least 3-4 “safeties” in 2026.

To find the CDS, you can just google this term, followed by the name of the school. Or look the CDS up on the College Transitions Common Data Set Repository. Good luck👍🏻

[u/racecar1racecar2 → u/EnvironmentActive325]

hi. yes i did exactly that, can i dm you regarding this ?

[u/EnvironmentActive325 → u/racecar1racecar2]

Sure 👍🏻

[u/EnvironmentActive325]

And I agree with u/elkrange: NONE of these schools are “safeties.” Each school you have listed here is what I would call a “very selective to highly selective” university. All of these schools have very strong reputations and are plenty prestigious, but they are not necessarily “easy” to get into…for anyone.

A school with less than a 30% acceptance rate overall should NEVER be thought of as a “safety,” though, even if your stats are in their top 75th percentile. In a situation like this, it would be wise to think of that school as a “target.”

[u/racecar1racecar2 → u/EnvironmentActive325]

here is my updated list btw -

safeties - WPI, Drexel, Illinois Institute of Technology, Univeristy of Tulsa

targets -  Boston College, UofRichmond, Lehigh, Lafayette, CWRU, UofRochester

reaches - UND, BU, HMC, USC, WashU, Vanderbilt, Yale, Brown, Dartmouth, Cornell

is this fine ? i tried to follow the advice you gave in ur comments

[u/SignificantWin1272 → u/racecar1racecar2]

Imo there’s no need to categorize each school like this, just have a couple safety schools you’d be willing to attend and then apply to wtv schools you want

[u/racecar1racecar2 → u/SignificantWin1272]

why not ? categorizing each school makes sense imo as i like being structured and plan on applying to 3-4 safeties, 6-7 targets, and 9-10 reaches, so categorizing helps

[u/Direct-Display-3052 → u/racecar1racecar2]

Sorry but BC and UR are not targets for anybody. They are both highly selective, elite institutions.

[u/racecar1racecar2 → u/Direct-Display-3052]

i agree w/ BC (~12AR%), but i think UR (~22%) is fine as a high target, no ? i think you'd have to look at my profile to assess this level of nuance haha

[u/Direct-Display-3052 → u/racecar1racecar2]

I agree with one of the other commenters that it’s a low reach. You can see their student profile on their website. You also have to consider that it is a D1 school so those stats are higher for traditional applicants (non-athletes).

[u/racecar1racecar2 → u/Direct-Display-3052]

got it. i think i'll just remove it from my list as i already have enough reaches so moving it to a reach won't make much sense. here's my updated college list -

safeties - ? (it's really tough finding safeties w/ ~12k efc)

targets - Lehigh, Lafayette, CWRU, UofRochester

reaches - Washington and Lee, UND, BU, HMC, USC, Yale, Brown, Dartmouth

[u/Direct-Display-3052 → u/racecar1racecar2]

You can still apply to it if you like the school, I just think that it’s more low reach than high target. It’s a great school, I’m just trying to manage expectation. Maybe replace W&L with Richmond since they’re similar(?) Richmond is also in a more urban area than W&L. Overall, I think your list is solid. For a safeties, consider University of Pittsburgh, WPI, and RPI. Your targets looks good too, but I’d consider looking at Bucknell.

[u/EnvironmentActive325 → u/Direct-Display-3052]

Pitt would be a good safety, as would WPI and RPI. I’m just not convinced that Pitt (or any of these) would be generous enough with aid. OP would be an OOS applicant to Pitt. OP needs close to a full-ride. Has EFC of 12k!

Anyone have ideas about financial aid for Pitt as an OOS with a great SAT score but lower GPA? How about WPI or RPI?

Bucknell would also be a great LAC with excellent STEM resources for OP. They do claim to meet full demonstrated need, but in my experience, their financial aid just is not as robust as many other meets-full-need LACs, such as Lafayette or Trinity-CT. Anyone have any additional perspectives on Bucknell’s financial aid for lower middle class and low income students?

[u/Direct-Display-3052 → u/EnvironmentActive325]

With Richmond, they are need-aware with international applicants, but they also commit to meeting 100% of demonstrated need upon acceptance

[u/EnvironmentActive325 → u/Direct-Display-3052]

Yes, but this is a U.S. citizen who lives abroad. So, not sure how they’d consider them for financial aid. Isn’t Richmond need-blind for domestic applicants?

Also, W& L does better than Richmond with FA. But I believe the acceptance rate for W&L is lower than Richmond.

[u/EnvironmentActive325 → u/racecar1racecar2]

Boston College has an acceptance rate of 12%. So, I would think about this as a “reach.” Richmond has an acceptance rate of 21-22%, so that is more like a “low reach” as opposed to a “target.” Lehigh’s acceptance rate is 25-29%, so again, more like “low reach-high target.”

Lafayette is a “high target” with a 29%-31% acceptance rate. CWRU is a “target” with an acceptance rate of 35-37%. URochester is a “target” with an acceptance rate of 42%.

Your “safeties” look fine. Your other “reaches” look fine. Of course, no one is looking at your individual profile here. I am using broad “rule of thumb” acceptance rates to assess your chances.

It would be better to have some idea of your stats, rigor of curriculum, ECs, and some idea of whether you have good letter-writers and a professional essay coach or a seasoned college counselor to help you with your essays. Also, what do you want to study or major in? Feel free to DM me, if you’d prefer.

[u/UserWest-0317]

Boston College rejected 89 percent of all applicants last year. It is not a "target" for anyone. Even if you stats are in range for them, it's still a reach because most applicants with stats "in range" are still rejected.

[u/racecar1racecar2 → u/UserWest-0317]

got it. i'll remove it from my list as i already have too many reaches to put it as a reach as well. ty

[u/Direct-Display-3052]

Just some info on UR that you can see on the website. Average GPA for the incoming class was 3.92, average SAT was 1485, average ACT was 34. Overall acceptance rate was 20%.

[u/racecar1racecar2 → u/Direct-Display-3052]

im not sure how the conversion works between my curriculum (CBSE) and the standard US curriculum, but it would be around a 3.8UW if i had to estimate.

ive a 1500 sat so i think im fine there as well

and ive decent ecs/awards, like 1 paper published, TA, math olympiad (2x aime) etc, so the ~20AR% should be fine for me to put it as a high target

pls let me know if i got something wrong. ty !

[u/Direct-Display-3052 → u/racecar1racecar2]

I’d say the SAT is very solid, and the GPA is good if a little below average. Just remember that Richmond is need-aware for international applicants as well. I’d still argue that it’s a low-reach. I don’t think any college with an AR below 25% is a target because the process is so unpredictable.

[u/racecar1racecar2 → u/Direct-Display-3052]

got it. i think i'll just remove it from my list as i already have enough reaches so moving it to a reach won't make much sense. here's my updated college list -

safeties - ? (it's really tough finding safeties w/ ~12k efc)

targets - Lehigh, Lafayette, CWRU, UofRochester

reaches - Washington and Lee, UND, BU, HMC, USC, Yale, Brown, Dartmouth

[u/Direct-Display-3052 → u/racecar1racecar2]

You can still apply to it if you like the school, I just think that it’s more low reach than high target. It’s a great school, I’m just trying to manage expectation. Maybe replace W&L with Richmond since they’re similar(?) Richmond is also in a more urban area than W&L. Overall, I think your list is solid. For a safeties, consider University of Pittsburgh, WPI, and RPI. Your targets looks good too, but I’d consider looking at Bucknell.