Nearly everyone I show my list to thinks that I’m playing it too safe and I should add one or two reach schools.
For every school on my list, I am at least average. I am not applying to any schools that I don’t feel confident about being a competitive applicant.
My “dream” school is UMD and I already feel like I am competitive so why apply to schools that are more selective.
It seems that everyone has(and tells me to have) a few schools that they apply to just for the sake of applying but I don’t quite get it. Unless it’s the school you’ve always wanted to go to why apply to a school at which you fall below the average and most probably won’t get in.
I realize that there is a “what-if” factor but I personally wouldn’t want to waste time and $70 for a rejection. That money can pay to fuel my car for a few months.
If UMD is affordable and you like it just as much as the reaches, and you aren’t planning on going to the very very tiny number of fields where undergrad pedigree matters (Wall Street finance and…?), then no, there’s no real reason to apply to reaches.
The only reason to apply to schools that typically admit few students or schools that typically admit most students is because you actually want to go to the school, feel it to be a good fit, a rock and roll place to rack your world for the next 4 or 6 years (intentional 4,6 deal). Focus on who wants to give you the most money, knowing that graduate school is more the terminal degree. This is a step in the process–maximize value, minimize cost, and feel the emerging culture on school choice.
My oldest daughter applied to 7 schools,most of them in Colleges that Change Lives.Those schools were matches or safeties for her and she got accepted by all 7 and got offered merit scholarships of $8000/year to$17,000/year from every single school. She is in her third year at her first choice school, but it was never a reach. No need to reach for something you don’t need or want. Good for you for knowing that!
Relax. You’re the sane one. Enjoy your senior year!
There is no law saying you must apply to reach colleges.
If you like a certain safety or match college, and if your family can easily afford the cost, then it may make sense to just apply ED to that school and be done with it.
The ~60 most selective colleges do tend to offer the best need-based aid for those who qualify
(http://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/paying-for-college/articles/2015/09/14/colleges-that-report-meeting-full-financial-need). On the other hand, in many cases, the same colleges offer little or no merit aid (and their sticker prices tend to be very high).
Compared to the alternatives, the most selective colleges also tend to offer smaller classes, higher-paid faculty, better facilities, and higher concentrations of the most talented students from all over the country. They tend to employ many distinguished professors, whose recommendations may be influential in graduate school admissions … assuming they get to know and respect you well enough to write a good letter (which may not happen if you aren’t a stand-out student, or if the most distinguished professors seldom even teach undergrads.)
Reach doesn’t equate to impossible.
Apply to schools where you are interested in attending. Period.
The concept of “reach” is idiotic for most students, a stab at the possibility of that golden Wonka ticket that will save your life. The best school for you is the one you fit and want to go to. So it’s fine to ditch the reach.
You don’t need a reach. If you have a good chance of getting into schools that you really like, that’s great.
Stop showing your list to “everyone.” It’s not their business. Make your decisions in conjunction with your parents and GC as appropriate for your circumstances. Other high school students are not a reliable source of anything.
S did not apply to any reaches. Graduating college with no loans was a priority for him, and we make too much money to receive need-based aid. While we’ve saved and were prepared to pay a good amount, he also wanted to be at a smaller school - which ruled out most publics (yes, there are exceptions, but for him a private was a better fit). It made no sense to him to apply to schools where even if he did get in, he would not get the merit money he was aiming for to meet his affordability criteria.
YOU need to be happy with your list, not those around you.
S1 applied to one reach school, he didn’t like as much as his matches or some safeties. He was waitlisted. I made him apply because I thought he needed a reach, it was a waste of time.
If UMD is your dream school then go for it. Make sure you have your application in by Nov. 1 and make sure you apply to some safeties. Enjoy your senior year and stop showing your list to other people.
D2 was in your situation. She knew where she wanted to attend. It wasn’t a reach, in fact for her it was a safety. She ended up applying to 4 schools, the other 3 were matches. The only reason she applied was that she wanted to make sure that none of the others were significantly cheaper. She had many of her friends tell her she wasn’t reaching high enough. In the end she is looking forward to starting school at her first choice (there was at least one other school which would have been a bit cheaper). I can appreciate the reasons one might have for applying to more selective schools, however, I also appreciate a student who is comfortable with a school they perceive fits their needs best. I don’t believe that is always the most selective schools. If you have no intention of attending a more selective school then I see no need or purpose in applying.
I think you should apply to schools you want to go to that also fit you whether or not they are reaches! Like someone else already said, you really have nothing to lose except some free time and the application fee if you don’t get in! Even if your stats are below average for whatever school you’re applying to, that doesn’t necessarily mean you won’t or can’t still get in. The data colleges put out in their admissions stats reports or freshman profile reports usually only represent the middle 50% of accepted students, meaning that people above AND below still get accepted. Plus, admissions processes are almost always holistic in approach, meaning they look at more than just your grades when deciding on who gets in! If you can clearly demonstrate that you love the school and that you would be a good fit, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t apply!
But if you’re completely satisfied with going to any of the match or safety schools you’re applying to or if you really do love one of them, then don’t waste your time applying to a reach! Best of luck to you!
I stopped being interested in reach schools near the end of junior year. Eventually you discover that unless your doing a very employable major at some top 20 school, then it practically doesn’t matter where you go. I picked my school based on how much I liked the campus, the people, and if I saw myself working nearby. Even the worst school in the world is probably good if you decide to work in that county.
Reach schools generally have huge endowments and are, therefore, better able to give generous need-based FA. So for needy students, they are often a better deal.
But if you love your match school, and it’s affordable, then you are lucky! When you’ve found your soulmate in life, there’s no need to chase the guy/gal who walks by in tighter jeans.
Agree with the above posters. And you will not be alone in your strategy.