When you prepare a list of colleges to apply to, you want to keep a nice balance between three categories of school: reach, match, and safety. What are the three types, and why should you apply to all of them?
- Reach Schools – A reach school is a college that normally would accept students with a better profile than you. You are likely to get a rejection letter, but these are your dream schools, and you shouldn’t give up on the chance of going, even if it’s a long shot.
- Match Schools – These are the schools you are interested in, and you have the profile of the average student who is accepted at such a university. Most of the time, a student will end up being accepted by at least one of their match schools, and that’s where they will attend unless they are lucky enough to have a reach school respond favorably.
- Safety Schools – These are schools where you have a profile superior to the average student who is accepted. Of course, you should still be meticulous with the application. If, for some reason, you are unable to get into any of the reach or match schools you apply to, you don’t want to miss out on a safety school due to a paperwork error.
For most students, you will want to apply to 2-3 schools in each category.
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