1. TARGET VS. REACH VS. SAFETY

5. Target Schools
A target school is one that you really, really, really want to attend, and where your stats match their admissions standards:
You meet or exceed their GPA
You meet or exceed their standardized test score requirements
The rest of your application is strong

6. Reach Schools
Think about a reach school as that dream school – Harvard, Princeton, USC, etc…
You fall short in one area, but exceed the other requirements:
Maybe your GPA and transcript are stellar, but you didn’t quite hit the mark on your SAT
You rocked the ACT, but that one C- in freshman English knocked your GPA
You have a strong essay and letters of recommendation.

7. Safety Schools
You feel very confident about your chances of getting accepted, you wouldn’t be embarrassed to tell people about it, and you would genuinely enjoy attending that college.
Your stats exceed all the requirements, and the subjective parts of your application will blow them away!

8. The 10 Worst Reasons For Choosing a College
My boyfriend/girlfriend is going there
My friend is going there
My counselor/teacher said it would be a
good fit
It’s a party school
It’s got all this prestige
It’s the only school I know about
My parents went there
It looks cool on the virtual tour
It is as far away from home as I can get
I got accepted and I want to stop applying