<p>I think I’m going to have to agree with GammaGrozza for the most part here. The “lower” ivies can be considered safeties if you have the stats. Cornell was a safety for me and I got in. I’m international and about 6 other students from my school who applied to Cornell were accepted (we all had excellent grades in A Levels/CAPE) and strong SATs. I am NOT saying that Cornell is not a great school. It is. But it’s an Ivy and it is considered a safety to many people. I’m not so sure about HYP. I’ve heard of people with great stats who got rejected. Although I suppose that if you have great stats + legacy + ECs you probably have a greater chance than the “regular” applicant?</p>