<p>We all know what happens we apply to our top schools Ivy, MIT, and the list goes on ED and as predicted in the stats we get turned down.
It’s a competitive application like most of ours are for these schools. ECs, APs, 3.95 GPA but we don’t get in because of sheer chance.
Now what? Where’s your back up plan? Good colleges, of course but which are good and competitive but less of a stretch?
As the ivy’s are a reach for everyone</p>
<p>It’s definitely important to have secure low reaches, matches, and safeties that you actually like. I worry that many people on this site fail to thoroughly research compatible alternatives to top 20 universities. My matches are Tulane, UPitt, and BC; while my safeties are OSU, UMinn @Twin Cities, and UWisc @Madison.</p>
<p>VERY good universities and colleges that are not Ivy, but are still good, are: UCLA, UC Berkeley, University of Virginia, USC, etc.</p>
<p>State school. </p>
<p>Pretty insane. But go to state for 4 years. Then get a master’s at a nice schol. Maintain the grades. And I think you’ll be fine.</p>
<p>OR</p>
<p>Stay two years at state. Switch. The end. :)</p>
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<p>Hardly say it’s because of sheer chance. More because it’s a crazy competitive application process. Honestly, I think it’s foolish when people expect/plan/center their future around going to an Ivy school. It’s okay to hope to get in, but don’t think that hope will get you there.</p>
<p>My plan? Apply to a bunch of really good schools, hope for the best, but in the end likely go to state school which happens to be one of the best for what I’m going for.</p>
<p>My top schools:
Harvard Oxford Cambridge Princeton
Maybe johns Hopkins</p>
<p>Backups: UNC chapel hill , nc state (something in state)</p>
<p>Sent from my ADR6425LVW using CC</p>
<p>I know it’s hard to believe it when you’re applying to colleges, but you really can get a good education almost anywhere. College is what you make of it and a famous name doesn’t necessarily make a school better. Almost all of the top students from my school are going to the University of Maryland College Park despite the fact that most of us got into “better” schools. State schools are wonderful! </p>
<p>And to add on to what @kimmylouie said, if you plan on going to grad school, it really doesn’t matter where you went for undergrad as long as you can get accepted somewhere for grad school. MIT undergrads have a significantly lower chance of getting into MIT grad school than those who went elsewhere.</p>