Hi there, thanks for the advice! I should’ve clarified that I meant merit as in prestige instead of merit as in financial aid, but to be honest, I think Cornell’s rigor is comparable to Tech and might only get an edge due to being an Ivy.
As for safety schools, I don’t think I’m willing to go away for schools that I can categorize as safeties, since getting into GSU means it’s incredibly easy to transfer credits to Tech, which is the route 70 percent of GT rejects take in my area.