Deciphering the Meaning of 'Safety Schools'

Hi all! I've been hearing this term 'safety schools' a lot lately, but what exactly does it mean? Like, are these schools you're almost guaranteed to get into? Can anyone clarify this college app jargon for me?

Sure, happy to help! The term "safety school" is widely used in college admissions to refer to a university where you have a significantly high chance of getting accepted. While there's no exact definition around the percentage chance of getting in, typical guidance is that a safety school is one where your GPA and test scores (if applicable) are well above the school's average or middle 50% range for accepted students, indicating that you're academically well-prepared for the institution.

It's important to not only consider your statistics when choosing safety schools, but also fit. Ideally, your safety schools should be places where you'd be happy to attend, not simply ones where you expect to be accepted. That's why it's recommended to still put careful thought into these choices, and not to treat them as fallbacks only. So, when creating your college list, make sure to include a mix of reach, target, and safety schools.

It's also worth noting that what constitutes a safety, reach, or target school can vary greatly from student to student because it depends on the individiual's academic profile and the selectivity of the colleges where they are applying.

For an idea of how to categorize schools, using a college's average GPA and SAT/ACT scores can be a good start. If your GPA and test scores are well above the average of accepted students, that school may be considered a safety. However, other factors like extracurricular involvement, essays, and letters of recommendation are also part of the application process, so always consider your overall application as well as your statistical fit.