Well, aside from admit- and merit aid-by-stats colleges. (And open admissions places with low sticker prices.)
But that path doesn’t tend to get a lot of love on CC, of course.
We were told by our school’s GC that UM, UVA, UNC and UT-Austin were all reaches. (We ended up not applying to UNC). Our GC did not say that with regard to Wisconsin, however, and D’s stats are certainly comparable to those who received acceptances. We treated it as a very doable match. She was nevertheless deferred. D may well get into Wisconsin (or Michigan for that matter), in the RD cycle, but by then she will be considering other schools, as well as the school that already gave her an EA offer.
One thing I would explain to others is this: some states simply don’t have flagships that approximate the experience of a Michigan or Wisconsin. It isn’t just the academics or prestige. It’s also the community feeling, the athletic events, the clubs and internship opportunities … you name it. That’s why high stats kids in Maine (where the OP says he’s from) are going to apply to OOS schools. To be sure, he should include OOS schools other than Wisconsin and UM, but I can’t blame him for seeking that kind of college experience.
Which is a good chunk of why my D19 chose Mississippi State, which may not have the prestige, but certainly does have all those other things…
Yeah, there are a handful of flagships that wouldn’t be safeties for the kid in the article. But most are, and would give him/her significant merit aid. New Mexico would give a full ride including housing. Arizona would give full tuition. Etc.
Right. A lot of schools provide the same experience and are much easier to get into. Pretty much any large school with big time sports offers all of that. My S20 has a 3.3/1350 and got accepted to Arizona, Oregon, Oregon State, and Washington State with merit aid offers from each, and all of them would provide a similar experience to Michigan or Wisconsin. And they would all be true safeties for the kid in the article.
I have a 1580 and a 4.9. Can anyone recommend some safety schools?