<p>I actually thought of Chicago as a safety when I applied. Given its ridiculously high acceptance rate (compared to peer institutions), it “felt” like a safety in that I would’ve been absolutely devastated and surprised if I did not get in. Then again, I also thought of Cornell as a “safety”. I knew several people who were attending Cornell with HS academics greatly inferior to mine. I got into Chicago but not Cornell. The difference? I blew off the Cornell application because I felt overly confident. However, I did not blow off the Chicago application because it had the only essay prompt I truly felt passionate about as well as some of the most enticing advertisements. In the end I didn’t get into any of the other top ivies/ stanford that were my reach schools. Luckily, even though Chicago was a safety, it was #3 on my list of colleges and I’m enjoying it here right now. My best friend actually got into Cornell with grades that were literally half a letter grade lower and an SAT about 200 pts lower but he tried really hard on the app. The lesson? No matter how easy you think a school is to get in, don’t equate safety with “I don’t have to care as much about the app”. While I got in a few other schools which were not safety schools in my eyes (NW, Georgetown) I still ended up choosing my “safety” school purely because I liked it alot more.</p>