When Your “Safeties” Are No Longer Safe

It’s no secret that Ivy League schools have hit record low acceptance rates. At this point, hearing about the 3% admit rate at Harvard and 5% admit rate at Brown can feel like old news. Many families, however, are shocked to find out how selective the rest of the top 50-100 colleges have become. Schools like Northeastern and Tufts—which, just 10 years ago, admitted 32% and 21% of students—recently posted acceptance rates of 6.7% and 9%, putting them on par with Cornell and Georgetown. They aren’t alone, either. Take a look at the current acceptance rates at several schools that have historically been more generous with admissions offers than their Ivy+ counterparts.

ACCEPTANCE RATES FOR THE CLASS OF 2026

• Barnard College: 8%
• Boston College: 16.5%
• Boston University: 14.2%
• Bowdoin College: 8.9%
• Colby College: 7.5%
• Emory University: 15.8%
• Middlebury College: 11.5%
• Northeastern University: 6.7%
• New York University: 12.2%
• Tufts University: 9%
• Tulane University: 10%
• University of Virginia: 18.7%
• Vanderbilt University: 6.1%
• Washington University in St. Louis: 10%
• Villanova University: 23%

For students hoping to use these schools as “safeties,” their low admit rates can come as an unpleasant surprise. You might feel comfortable reaching for Harvard if Middlebury is more in range. But what if Middlebury itself is a reach?

If seeing these acceptance rates strikes fear into your heart, don’t panic! Instead, follow the steps we have laid out below to ensure you have a strong application strategy.

BROADEN YOUR SEARCH

You might start your admissions journey focusing on the very top schools, but you shouldn’t stop there. Instead, take time to explore broadly, looking at big schools and small ones, urban universities and rural colleges. While looking, make sure to focus not just on the prestige of a school, but also on the opportunities it offers. Does it have majors that interest you? A community you are excited to join? Internship or co-op programs that would allow you to explore possible careers? Checking out a variety of schools will ensure that you have a range of colleges to apply to, all with different levels of selectivity.

CONSIDER YOUR ADMISSIONS ODDS

As we’ve noted before, many schools offer public data on the students they admit. From newspaper articles to class profiles to admissions blogs, there are lots of ways to learn about the types of applicants your target colleges prefer. Your high school may also offer programs like Naviance or Maia Learning that allow you to see how past students from your school have fared in the admissions process at particular colleges.

Be sure to take a look at this data when putting together your own application strategy! Does your GPA align with that of past students from your school who have been admitted to a certain college? Do your test scores fall at the high end of the school’s middle 50% range? Make sure you develop a well-rounded application plan that includes schools where recent data shows you will truly be a compelling applicant.

DEMONSTRATE INTEREST

No one aspires to be a fallback option. All schools—even those with more generous acceptance rates—aim to admit students who are excited about their offerings and may choose to attend.

How can you telegraph to a school that you are seriously considering it? Demonstrate interest! That is, engage with the college through campus or online visits, info sessions, webinars, social media, etc. to learn more about it and show that you are genuinely interested in attending it. Many schools will consider your engagement when making admissions decisions, so making your interest known can boost your odds of being accepted.

Exploring schools thoroughly can also help you make a compelling case for being admitted to a particular university, both in your supplemental essays and during your college interviews. The University of Michigan, for example, asks students to write an essay describing the “unique qualities that attract you to the specific undergraduate College or School … to which you are applying.” It’s hard to write that essay if you haven’t spent much time looking into the school!

By demonstrating interest in all of the schools on your list—including both your reach schools and your more realistic options—you’ll improve your odds of acceptance across the board. Learning more about a range of schools may also show you that your safeties aren’t safeties after all; they are dream schools in and of themselves.

EMBRACE ROLLING AND EARLY ADMISSIONS

We’ve spoken before about the benefits of Early Decision, a binding application round that significantly increases your odds of admission.

When developing your application strategy, you may also want to take advantage of Rolling and Early Action application rounds. Schools that offer Rolling Admission—such as Penn State and Loyola University Chicago—allow students to submit their applications as early as August and receive admissions decisions shortly thereafter. Some schools that offer Early Action—including Case Western and Fordham University—also give students a chance to learn their admissions results in December. (Note that not all Early Action schools release admissions decisions in December. Some offer results in January or later.)

STILL STRUGGLING TO SIFT THROUGH YOUR OPTIONS?

Feel free to reach out to us! Every year, we help students understand their odds of admission at their target schools and work with them to develop application strategies that allow them to apply with confidence.