Is it rude to comment that a school is a “safety”?

ucbalumnus
Mon, 26 Nov 2018 06:27:36 +0000

Seems like the notion that calling a college a “safety” is insulting to students who attend to want to attend it is based on the implied assumption that a “safety” is somehow “beneath” the student who considers it as such, even if the student considers it a desirable college. Examples of the latter include @Vineyarder 's daughter as described in reply #55, or many top 6% rank students in Texas whose first choice is a Texas public university and a non-competitive major, whose families know that they can afford the college.

Indeed, the idea that a “safety” is “beneath” the student who considers it as such is common on these forums. Sometimes, naming an actual safety for a poster looking for one does not get a good reaction (often from others besides the original poster).