Safety, Match, and Reach Schools Explained
A well-built college list usually includes a mix of all three: schools you're very likely to get into (safety), schools where your record lines up with the typical admitted student (match), and schools that are a stretch no matter how strong your application is (reach). The breakdown below uses overall school selectivity as a general guide — it's not personalized to your specific GPA or test scores, so use it as a starting framework, not a final answer.
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Take the quiz to get personalized matchesReach
73 schools · avg $76,253/yr · avg 11% acceptanceHighly selective schools (under 20% acceptance) are a reach for most applicants, regardless of how strong their record is — admission depends on more than stats alone.
Example schools
- University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
- University of California-Los Angeles
- University of California-Berkeley
- New York University
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Reach or Match
96 schools · avg $47,159/yr · avg 32% acceptanceSelective schools (20-40% acceptance) are a reach for some applicants and a realistic match for others, depending on how their record compares to the typical admitted student.
Example schools
- The University of Texas at Austin
- University of Florida
- San Diego State University
- University of California-San Diego
- Florida State University
Match
448 schools · avg $43,925/yr · avg 58% acceptanceModerately selective schools (40-70% acceptance) are a realistic match for most applicants with a solid academic record.
Example schools
- Texas A&M University-College Station
- University of Central Florida
- Ohio State University-Main Campus
- Purdue University-Main Campus
- Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus
Safety
1109 schools · avg $38,038/yr · avg 86% acceptanceAccessible schools (70%+ acceptance) are typically a safety option — a strong likelihood of admission — for most applicants.
Example schools
- Southern New Hampshire University
- Grand Canyon University
- Arizona State University Campus Immersion
- Liberty University
- Brigham Young University-Idaho