<p>@hpfan and GammaGozza: Even if you have the stats and ECs to get into an Ivy, I still strongly believe that any top 25 school cannot serve as a safety to anyone, including the lower Ivies. If you have the stats to get in and pretty confident that you will get in, then it is a match. However, in my opinion, a safety is a school where one is 99 percent sure that he/she is going to get in. Safeties are mainly state schools and many of the lesser ranked private schools.</p>
<p>Here’s an anecdote for you… I believed that I would get into Emory and Northwestern after I sent in my application. My GPA was very good, my SAT scores in their published ranges (some even above), excellent ECs (imho), and great essays. I also demonstrated interest by going to information sessions and campus visits. Even though I was pretty sure I was going to get in, I never once considered Emory or Northwestern a safety. I knew there was still a chance I wouldn’t get in; therefore, I considered them matches. And no matter how talented and gifted the applicant is, the same thing holds true for the lower Ivies. Even though they have a good chance of getting in if they match the typical Ivy Leaguer, there is still a chance they won’t get in. The applicant cant be confident, but never be close to 99 percent sure, which is what defines a safety, at least to me.</p>
<p>I have known people who have gotten into Harvard, Stanford, or Yale and rejected from the lower Ivies.</p>
<p>Disclaimer: If you are the intelligent, talented daughter of the President or discovered a cure for cancer, then you can consider the lower Ivies and any Ivy a safety.</p>