Asking for a friend 
Basically has the stats like a near 4.0, 1500+ SAT scores, projected national merit semifinalist, etc.
Money isn’t that big of an issue but I’m sure merit would help
Preference: 25k or less students but >3k students
Home state is Nevada and in-state schools are ok and have already been considered
We probably need more info about likes and dislikes, but schools like Tulane, Wisconsin, Lehigh, or Northeastern could be considered safeties for near perfect stats kids. I’d say generally schools ranked 40-60 on the national Unis rankings list or schools outside of the top 30 or so on the LAC rankings list could be considered a safety for that level of applicant. Obviously, there are exceptions to the rule with certain schools not admitting students to keep their yelds up.
With a 21% acceptance rate, Tulane can hardly be considered a solid safety for anyone. Tulane wants to make sure it admits freshman who will be excited to be there, make the most of their opportunities, maintain the very high levels of happiness it has been recognized for, and not transfer out. In recent years Tulane has figured that there are enough excellent students that demonstrate such enthusiasm that it can take a small hit on the stats of the students it does admit in order to maintain high morale This is why every December and April disappointed high stats students came back to CC screaming pejoratives ranging from “it was my second choice anyway,” “yield protection,” “I got into an ivy anyway,” “the admissions office jerked me along, etc.”
Bottom line for Tulane and many other schools: demonstrate tons of interest. Stats are not enough these days. Best of luck to your friend!
True safeties that fit that criteria and are also at least Near-Ivy level probably can only be found overseas (top Canadian unis and any top UK Unis outside of Oxbridge/LSE if you have the AP test scores). That said, they probably have a decent shot at UMich. There would be more safeties lower down the totem pole you go (especially publics if they are willing to pay the OOS price; some have scholarships for NMF). Without knowing anything else, though, it’s hard to suggest much.
What major?
@oPhilippos, you will be competing with 40,000 other applicants with those stats, and another 100,000 or more that are either URM, First-Gen or both, so your chances of gaining admission to an Ivy League school is somewhere between 1% and 5% - this isn’t meant to tell you that you have no chance as you do, buts it’s slim like every other qualified applicant.
So, similar to what @obsessedwcollege noted, plan on searching for schools where you are at the top-25% of SAT scores that have acceptance rates in the 5-20% range for reach schools, where you at or above the top-25% that have acceptance rates in the 20-30% range for match schools, and those where you are well above the top-25% and have acceptance rates above 30% for safety schools.
If you are either URM, First-Gen or both your chances will be enhanced, but yes it’s that competitive out there.
UC-Berkeley would make for a solid match and near-safety, even including his OOS status, assuming his UC GPA is high enough (4.2+)
@Studious99: For Cal, that would depend on the major/school. Certainly not a match/near-safety if you’re applying to some majors there.
@PurpleTitan, agree it’s still a reach with a 17% acceptance rate and top-25% SAT of 1550.
Go for the state schools… U-Wisconsin, UIUC, UMich/UVA/UNC match/not safety. Others schools like NYU, NorthEastern, BU, Lehigh show increasing signs of yield protection for the class of 2021 cycle. I have students being waitlisted by these schools despite high SATs 1530+, wGPA > 4.2, decent essays but not enough to show exceptional interest level of attending if accepted. JMHO.
@BigflowerSusie, it may be yield or a fundamental change in the relationship of SAT/ACT scores and probability of acceptance at top colleges as all are seeking more diverse student populations and as a result admissions may be getting more holistic then ever before. If unhooked students are now only 20-40% of a highly selective school’s schools population it’s fewer seats to be spread around.
@AroundHere @Chembiodad @PurpleTitan @obsessedwcollege The intended major would be chemistry and he would like to enter as a pre-med. Sports/social scene aren’t a big deal, but he probably won’t (just guessing) like a super-liberal school considering that he’s a pretty devout Catholic. Then again, that’s not stopping me from applying to lewis and clark but to each his own I guess. Also when I said 1500+ SAT I meant on the lower end of that.
Also, thanks for the UMich rec, but it’s kind of concerning because UMich seems to defer a lot of kids who are considering using it as a safety. Two of my friends got deferred then accepted, and I suspect it’s because they were insanely qualified (they got into some REALLY selective programs). Not really the relieving experience that you’d want from a safety lol
Michigan is nobody’s safety. Nor are UNC or UVA. I don’t even think they are matches if you are OOS for them.
Michigan is not a safety. CC posters assume it is a safety because it is public, but Michigan’s admissions standards are very high, especially for OOS applicants (sub 20% acceptance rate). ACT/SAT ranges for the incoming Freshman class hovers around 30-34 and 1330-1530.
Wisconsin is similar to Michigan and can be considered a safety/target. Its Chemistry department is truly exceptional too.
No doubt the pressure is on for the “unfortunate” ORMs in top schools (now spreading into the top 30-50 tier). Based on what I saw in the class of 2021 cycle, for those “ORMs” with high stats, they are better off to take the “Ivy Dreams” off the head, and focus on solid Top 20-40 schools and do whatever it takes to demonstrate interests (such as entering the merit scholarships competition even they don’t need the money, apply early (aka not till the last week of Dec) even they go for the RD rounds, apply EA or ED as much as possible.) For the OP - the only solid safety schools are those ranked in the top 50 - top 75 - many of these schools are still running admission decisions based on stats alone w/o the whole “flakey” holistic review terms. Holistic is a term totally defensible in the courtroom to avoid all these lawsuits on why certain groups of people are favored while others are being “disfavored”. High stats alone, esp. in the ORM group is now being caught between the two devils in the deep blue sea - can’t get into tippy top schools due to diversity/holistic reviews and can’t get into the nest tier (if not demonstrated enough interest) due to yield protection (and probably lesser quality/effort put into the all-important essays in the application). JMHO.
@BigflowerSusie, I think the drop of acceptance for ORMs in the top 30-50 schools was due to a bout with “I’m better than that itis” instead of understanding that there are no free lunches. We made sure our twin DD’s, who each had tippy tops academic profiles, didn’t take anything for granted, and as a result were accepted to 3/4 top 10-20 LAC match schools and 3/3 top 20-30 LAC safety schools - they never took their eye off the ball. While yield protection has some validity, I think the applicant plays a very big role in the outcome.
How about Gonzaga or U Denver?
^ Likely a good shot at both.
I don’t think those schools play yield-protection games.
Also, ORM should look at more LACs as well. At many of them (outside the top tier), ORM still aren’t ORM.
@PurpleTitan, agree on it not likely being yield protection, but rather more highly qualified applicants - funny how people throw that flag when things don’t go their way.