Match, safety, and reach colleges: You may already be familiar with this trifecta of terms. But you may not realize how important it is to seek out a good mix of safety, reach, and match schools in your college search. Spoiler alert: it's a big deal. There’s also a magical secret to picking these schools—and it's the closest thing you're gonna get to a guaranteed win in your college search! But more on that in a second. First, let's get down to basics. What makes a college a safety, reach/dream, or match school, anyway?
Defining match, safety, and reach schools
In basic terms, a match school (also sometimes referred to as “target” or “50/50”) is one where you feel reasonably certain you’d be admitted because your GPA and test scores are similar to the average admitted student. A safety school is one where you're almost positive you would be admitted based on your academic profile. Your GPA and test scores will be notably higher than the average admitted student.
A reach school, also often called a dream school, is one where your academic profile puts you at the lower end of the admitted student spectrum—or perhaps even below. It's less likely that you'll be admitted. However, a reach school should still be within the realm of possibility. If your academic profile is lightyears away from the average admitted student, it’s generally not worth your time or money to apply. This isn’t to say you shouldn’t stretch yourself in your college search and application process—you definitely should. You just don’t want to put all your eggs in one Ivy League basket.
Related: The Ultimate Guide to the College Search: How to Find Your Perfect College Match
How to know what schools are a match, safety, or reach
Picking your match, safety, and reach schools is all about comparing your academic profile to that of the average admitted student. The average admitted student profile is typically just a short list of admission statistics for the current freshman class, with things like average SAT/ACT scores and GPA. You may find other student stats like geographic diversity or class rank too. Make sure you find the school’s overall acceptance rate as well. You should be able to find this info on virtually any college or university’s website. A simple Google search for "[college name] admitted student profile" usually does the trick. You can also find these statistics on college search sites (including CollegeXpress—check out our college profiles here!). Always look for the most recent admitted class profile.
If you’re unsure whether a college is a match, safety, or reach school for you, ask around. Your high school counselor can probably help. You can also ask people who know you well (such as family, friends, or mentors) for their opinions. But do not ask admission representatives if they think you’ll be admitted. They don’t like that, and they really can’t tell you on the fly anyway. Remember, the more research you put into your college search, the better you’ll know your schools and how your academic background fits in with their student population. (Pro tip: with all these figures floating around, this is a great opportunity to make a college search spreadsheet.)
Related: College Search Spreadsheet Template: Organize and Compare Your College Research
The secret to picking your colleges
Choosing your schools isn’t just about comparing numbers to determine your chances of being admitted—it’s about making sure all those schools are places you’d actually be happy to attend. That means every school from your #1 choice to the backup for your backup plan should fit your needs. Plenty of students think “safety school” and imagine any old school that admits 99% of applicants. But that’s not how it should be! As you track down colleges that have the academics, location, and extracurricular activities you want, ask yourself if the school is a match, safety, or reach option for you.
When it comes time to apply, make sure you have a good mix of choices. Most experts recommend students apply to anywhere between five to 10 colleges; this should consist of one or two safeties, one to three reaches, and three to five matches. Even if your top college choice is squarely in your match column, you should still explore and apply to a variety of schools. You might surprise yourself by falling in love with another college or university, and you never know what will happen after you get your acceptance letters and financial aid award letters. Your second choice can seem pretty attractive if they offer you a bigger financial aid package than your top-choice college.
Some students and their families might also use price as a reason to call a school a reach (or match or safety). But try to remember that this is about your overall fit as a student. If you really meet or exceed the criteria for a school's average admitted student, you’ll likely get their average or higher for a financial aid package too. That can knock the sticker price way down at many schools.
Related: How to Make Your Best College List and the Ultimate Choice
Exceptions to these admission rules
With all this being said, it’s important to remember college admission decisions are based on much more than your GPA and test scores. So choosing your safety, match, and reach schools is far from an exact science. At the end of the day, you might get an easy acceptance to a reach school while getting rejected by a safety school. The point is to give yourself lots of options (and safety nets) by applying to plenty of schools that really, truly fit you.
Also keep in mind that admission to the reachiest of reach schools is especially difficult to predict. Practically every applicant has a perfect GPA, top-notch test scores, and a glowing extracurricular résumé. In those cases, it’s the factors beyond academics—like leadership of a clean water nonprofit, founding a small business, or conducting a youth orchestra—that shoot applicants into admitted student territory. If your dream schools are some of the nation’s most selective colleges, remember admission is all about how you stack up to your fellow applicants with a dash of pure luck.
College is what you make of it
Before you start worrying about the new layer of complexity this adds to your college search, remember: There are over 4,000 degree-granting institutions in the United States. These schools come in every size, shape, specialty, and selectivity you can imagine. So your chances of finding a complete set of match, safety, and reach schools you love are actually very good, especially if you open your college search to the entire country.
The school you choose is, arguably, less important than your attitude and the effort you put in while you’re there. You can learn a ton, love your classmates, and get super involved on practically any campus. College is what you make of it. By putting in the time and effort to find your match, safety, and reach schools now—schools that truly fit you—you’re empowering yourself to have an amazing college experience no matter what.
Ready to start building your college list? Find unique college and university options using our Lists & Rankings for a fun way to start searching!
