The stress of applying to college affects all high school seniors. A key factor contributing to this stress is the interplay behind a glorified idea of a “reach” school (one where the odds of acceptance are possible, although a long-shot), and the demonized idea of the dreaded “safety” school (where one is reasonably assured of acceptance). High school seniors agonize and worry over the idea of failing to get into their “reach” and being stuck with their “safety” school mostly because the latter is a last minute addition where the thought process is, “I know I’m not actually going to go here, it’s just a checked-box in the admissions process.” Students often put little effort into choosing the safety schools on their college list. They view it as the least important part of the admissions process, preferring instead to dedicate their time and energy to choosing their reach and target schools.
Most of my high school friends found senior year overshadowed by the stress of applying to college, whereas I found the process enjoyable and virtually stress-free. My trick? I put tons of time and research into finding a safety school that I absolutely loved. In fact, hard as it is to believe, I loved my top safety school so much that I actually felt a tinge of sadness (wondering what my life and career might have been like at the safety school) when I was accepted as an Early Decision candidate at my reach/target school.
By putting in the time to find a safety school that I loved, I realized early on that I was almost certainly going to be happy with any outcome. Even if I failed to get into my target and reach schools, I would have been overjoyed to attend my safety school because I knew that I could thrive there.
My list of safety schools centered around the criteria that were important to me; namely, proximity to a specific city, strength in my prospective field, and a successful internship program. Another important element was the presence of an honors program, where being a highly-qualified applicant meant that I stood a good chance of being admitted as an honors student. In my case, the honors program at my top safety school would have allowed me to reap certain benefits such as priority housing, smaller class sizes, trips/outings with the honors group, and even an exclusive study center on campus.
Find a safety school you love (and demonstrate your admiration for it through campus visits and maintaining steady contact), and that is an almost guaranteed offer of admission. Next, send in those applications as early as possible to ease some of the stress and fatigue that begins to set in as senior year grinds on, then relax and savor the rest of your senior year knowing that your college search can only end in success.
For more information on how AdmissionsCheckup can help, click here.
Guest Blogger Sam Gaspar, Class of 2021, attends George Washington University.
