Chance an ambitious lower GPA junior for Business [CA resident, 3.61 GPA, 1460 SAT]

Chance Me / Match Me
42

I question their logic if you are an auto admit to a college you actually prefer, but in the end you should probably do what they require.

43

I donā€™t really know, I think itā€™s a general policy when applying to 20+ schools.

44

Thatā€™s sound promisingā€“maybe if you can trim your list to under 20, all the ones you do apply for can actually make sense for you.

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45

But if they are not assured admission, then they are not really safeties, right?

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46

Iā€™ve seen quite a few places/websites etc where they regard 80%+ admission rates as safeties. (Anecdote: this didnā€™t work out so well for one of D19ā€™s friends, who found herself waitlisted to Oregon. She later ended up graduating Berkeley by way of CC, so ā€¦it didnā€™t affect her in the end, but it was a big shock at the time.)

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47

I donā€™t disagree with that logic, but Rutgersā€™ acceptance rate dropped to around 45% last year after they went to the Common App. Prior to that it was about 65%, so I hope this school counsellor isnā€™t looking at that old number.

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48

80% overall, or 80% estimated for the specific applicant?

But better to list non-assured highly likely admission and affordability as ā€œlikelyā€ rather than ā€œsafetyā€.

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49

A 3.6 is not a sure thing at Rutgers.

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50

The rule of thumb Iā€™ve seen is to regard a school as a safety if it has 80%+ admit rate, and the studentā€™s stats are above the 75th percentile in all areas that can be compared (such as unweighted and weighted GPA, both parts of the SAT, etc).

Of course this doesnā€™t hold in the case of impacted majors that have a much lower admit rate than the school as a whole (such as CS, etc), or majors that require an arts portfolio or other special process.

And, a school isnā€™t really a safety unless it is also a financial safety.

6 Likes
51

Seems like a better definition of ā€œsafetyā€ would be:

  • Assured admission
    • Including to division or major, if applicable
  • Assured affordability

When admission is non-assured, that can introduce uncertainty based on subjectively graded application aspects (evaluation of course work and extracurriculars, essays, recommendations, level of applicantā€™s interest). Even when there are no subjectively graded application aspects, competitively determined thresholds may vary from year to year.

Back to the OPā€™s situation, if IU business has assured admission and affordability, then there is no reason for the OP to apply to other schools which they would not choose over IU business.

52

maybe. No one at my school with above a 3.6W and/or a 1300 has been rejected or waitlisted in the last 4 years.

53

Good points. Sorry, I should add this, but $$$ is not a priority at all for us. School quality and fit is much more important. Thankfully we can afford any of the schools without sacrifices.

54

Disagree with assured admission, I think Iā€™ve really seen 70 or 80%+ chance at admission used to define safeties, as many schools donā€™t fully guarantee admission. I do agree that I donā€™t need other safeties, but the counselor is pushing the balanced list narrative.

55

Why do you need to apply to 20 plus colleges?

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56

Donā€™t shoot the messenger guys, just trying to think why the counselor may have put those as a safety! I personally would also (and do) use ā€œlikelyā€ for anything not an auto-admit.

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57

i donā€™t need to apply to 20+, but as a lower GPA applicant, and having the means to apply to more colleges, my family and I believe it provides more opportunities for landing a top choice school.

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58

That is fine to apply to 20+. Please do revisit the list and make sure too many of the schools are not reaches. UW-Foster is very hard to get in as a direct admit. Legacy was banned recently in CA I think (somebody confirm), so I am not sure how much it helps with Santa Clara.

59

As of September 2025 at private nonprofit universities, within their regular or early action admissions*. Legacy was already not considered at California public universities.

*Would universities really wanting to prefer legacies try to look for loopholes like waitlist admissions?

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60

True. My school is a huge feeder too. Only 3 people out of hundreds with over a 3.5w and 1300 have been rejected in the last 3 years. weā€™ve had 300+ admitted in that span too.

61

https://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forum/school/iu-kelley-vs-uiuc-gies-0?check_logged_in=1

I found this interesting - one poster says UIUC is better, having the #2 accounting program in the country

1 Like