35 Good Safety Schools for 2025
March 25, 2025
While the term “safety school” can carry a slightly negative connotation, it shouldn’t! Safety schools鈥攐r “likely” schools, as we call them here at 国产第一福利影院草草鈥攁re actually critical components of a well-balanced college list. They’re also not one-size-fits-all; the best options for you will require both research and strategy. In addition to a list of popular鈥攁nd excellent鈥攕afety schools, we’ll also be covering some frequently asked questions, including what a safety school is, why you should apply, how many safety schools you should apply to, and how to identify schools that qualify as safeties. Let’s dive in!
Overview:
- What is a good safety school
- What is not a good safety school
- Why you should apply to safety schools
- How many safety schools you should have on your list
- How to determine which safeties are good for you
- Our list of 35 excellent safety schools, organized by region
What is a Good Safety School?
When you build your college list, it should be comprised of three types of colleges: reach schools, target (or match) schools, and safety (or likely) schools. You’ll determine these categories based on how your academic profile compares to the academic profile of the average incoming student:
- Reach schools are institutions where your academic profile is lower than that of the average student (test scores & GPA below the 25th percentile).
- Target schools听are institutions where your academic profile is comparable to that of the average student (within the 25th percentile to 75th percentile).
- Safety schools are institutions where your academic profile is higher than that of the average student (above the 75th percentile).
It’s important to note that good safety schools are relative to each student鈥檚 unique credentials. Quantitative factors like test scores and GPA certainly play a major role, but colleges with holistic admissions will look at other factors as well, such as extracurriculars and leadership. Accordingly, one student鈥檚 safety school may be another student鈥檚 reach or target school.
Think of it this way: a school you’ve deemed as a “safety” is simply one where you have a higher鈥攂ut not absolute鈥攃hance of acceptance. It is not an indicator of reduced academic quality. Even though your safety schools may not be your top choices, they should still be institutions that you could genuinely see yourself attending, meaning that their program offerings, location, and cost should align with your goals, needs, and priorities.
What is Not a Good Safety School?
Highly competitive and selective schools are not good safety schools for any applicant, regardless of how incredible your application is. Along these lines, do not assume that your state’s鈥攐r any other state’s鈥攑ublic flagship will be one of your safety schools. It really depends on where you live, so make sure to look at both the in-state and out-of-state acceptance rates.
In addition, keep an eye on admissions trends for collectively popular safety schools鈥攂oth public and private鈥攁s these can shift from “solid safety” to “crazy reach” over a fairly short period of time. For example, in the late 2000s, Northeastern and UChicago were common safety options for bright teens, especially those shooting for the Ivies. Back then, each had an acceptance rate of around 35%. Now? A dream-crushing 5%.
Skyrocketing selectivity can even happen in the space of one admissions cycle.听 From 2022 to 2023, the University of Tennessee’s acceptance rate dropped from 68% to 46%. Similarly, from 2021 to 2022, Auburn University’s 85% acceptance rate tumbled to 44% and has hovered there ever since. Schools like Boston University, Case Western, Florida State, Purdue, the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign, the University of Georgia, Georgia Tech, and the University of Pittsburgh have also experienced either short- or long-term selectivity increases in recent years.
Why Apply to Safety Schools?
In today’s college admissions landscape, the smartest applicants ensure that they have plenty of options鈥攂oth from an admissions and a financial perspective. Generally, colleges where your application falls at the top of the pile are colleges where you are more likely to be accepted and more likely to be considered for merit aid opportunities and special program selection, like honors programs.
How Many Good Safety Schools Should I Have on My List?
Ideally, you should select 4-5 target schools,听2-3 reach schools, and 2-3 safety schools that you feel confident about.
Applying to several safety schools is a key strategy for offsetting yield protection. For starters, yield is the percentage of accepted students who choose to enroll. It’s an important metric for colleges that helps them avoid accepting too many or too few students. Yield also indicates desirability. For examples, colleges like Harvard and MIT typically have yield rates of 75%+ while state universities tend to have yield rates in the teens.
Accordingly, some less selective but still competitive schools engage in yield protection, or the practice of waitlisting or even rejecting qualified students who they believe will attend a more prestigious school. To avoid this outcome, do your best to select at least a few safety schools that you’d be comfortable attending.
How to Determine Which Schools Are Good Safety Schools
Safety schools are relative, so have your GPA and/or standardized test scores handy! You’ll be comparing those numbers to each college’s reported admissions data (typically found on their Common Data Set).
For example, let’s say you have a 3.6 GPA and an SAT score of 1350. Let’s also say you’re applying to the following schools:
College A
- Mid-50% GPA: 3.8-4.1
- Mid-50% SAT: 1450-1580
University B
- Mid-50% GPA: 3.1-3.4
- Mid-50% SAT: 1170-1300
College C
- Mid-50% GPA: 3.4-3.7
- Mid-50% SAT: 1300-1410
After collecting each college’s mid-50th percentile numbers, evaluate how your GPA and SAT score stack up. In this example, your GPA and SAT score fall below College A’s mid-50th percentile, so it would be a reach school. However, they fall comfortably within College C’s reported range, so that would be a target school. And since your stats are well above College B’s profile, that would be your safety school.
This method is the most basic way to determine your safety schools. For a more efficient (and accurate) method, check out our free 国产第一福利影院草草 Admissions Calculator, which factors in each college’s reported data as well as our collective expertise and experience.
35 Excellent Safety Schools
To build our list of safety schools, we selected institutions with stellar academic offerings that represent a variety of locations, sizes, and costs. We’ve organized our list by region, and ordered the schools within each region by acceptance rate. As such, students with stronger academic backgrounds can look toward the latter half of each region for more competitive yet still reasonable options.
Use the menu to jump to your region of choice:
Good Safety Schools in the Northeast
1)
- Location: Farmington, Maine
- Acceptance Rate: 98%
- Undergraduate Enrollment: 1,605
- Average SAT Score: 915-1210
- Average ACT Score: N/A
- Average High School GPA: 3.3
- Cost of Attendance: In State: $22,618; Out-of-state: $35,188
2)
- Location: Montclair, New Jersey
- Acceptance Rate: 88%
- Undergraduate Enrollment: 18,712
- Average SAT Score: 930-1200
- Average ACT Score: N/A
- Average High School GPA: 3.33
- Cost of Attendance: In State: $37,524; Out-of-state: $47,634
3)
- Location: Durham, New Hampshire
- Acceptance Rate: 88%
- Undergraduate Enrollment: 11,365
- Average SAT Range:听 1100-1320
- Average ACT Range: 26-30
- Average High School GPA: 3.63
- Cost of Attendance: In state: $38,440; Out-of-state: $59,340
4)
- Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Acceptance Rate: 80%
- Undergraduate Enrollment: 21,428
- Average SAT Range:听 1130-1350
- Average ACT Range: 24-31
- Average High School GPA: 3.42
- Cost of Attendance: In state: $43,928; Out-of-state: $58,976
5)
- Location: Kingston, Rhode Island
- Acceptance Rate: 77%
- Undergraduate Enrollment: 13,904
- Average SAT Range:听 1160-1300
- Average ACT Range: 26-31
- Average High School GPA: 3.64
- Cost of Attendance: In state: $37,662; Out-of-state: $59,508
6)
- Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Acceptance Rate: 79%
- Undergraduate Enrollment: 13,169
- Average SAT Range:听 1250-1430
- Average ACT Range: 27-32
- Average High School GPA: 3.75
- Cost of Attendance: $86,353
7)
- Location: Potsdam, New York
- Acceptance Rate: 77%
- Undergraduate Enrollment: 2,513
- Average SAT Range:听 1200-1390
- Average ACT Range: 26-31
- Average High School GPA: 3.8
- Cost of Attendance: $78,478
8)
- Location: Newark, Delaware
- Acceptance Rate: 64%
- Undergraduate Enrollment: 18,159
- Average SAT Range:听 1220-1360
- Average ACT Range: 27-31
- Average High School GPA: 4.04
- Cost of Attendance: In state: $36,446; Out-of-state: $61,036
Good Safety Schools in the South
9)
- Location: Wichita Falls, Texas
- Acceptance Rate: 87%
- Undergraduate Enrollment: 4,508
- Average SAT Score: 940-1140
- Average ACT Score: 18-24
- Average High School GPA: 3.4
- Cost of Attendance: In State: $26,897; Out-of-state: $39,046
10)
- Location: Boone, North Carolina
- Acceptance Rate: 90%
- Undergraduate Enrollment: 19,560
- Average SAT Score: 1140-1270
- Average ACT Score: 21-27
- Average High School GPA: 3.84
- Cost of Attendance: In State: $25,715; Out-of-state: $44,577
11)
- Location: Fairfax, Virginia
- Acceptance Rate: 87%
- Undergraduate Enrollment: 28,331
- Average SAT Score: 1170-1350
- Average ACT Score: 25-30
- Average High School GPA: 3.69
- Cost of Attendance: In State: $34,900; Out-of-state: $59,368
12)
- Location: Houston, Texas
- Acceptance Rate: 74%
- Undergraduate Enrollment: 39,257
- Average SAT Score: 1170-1330
- Average ACT Score: 23-29
- Average High School GPA: 3.5
- Cost of Attendance: In State: $25,801; Out-of-state: $37,993
13)
- Location: Harrisonburg, Virginia
- Acceptance Rate: 69%
- Undergraduate Enrollment: 21,008
- Average SAT Score: 1210-1370
- Average ACT Score: 26-31
- Average High School GPA: N/A
- Cost of Attendance: In State: $27,158; Out-of-state: $44,504
14)
- Location: Elon, North Carolina
- Acceptance Rate: 66%
- Undergraduate Enrollment: 6,452
- Average SAT Range: 1130-1320
- Average ACT Range: 24-30
- Average High School GPA: 3.85
- Cost of Attendance: $65,663
15)
- Location: Columbia, South Carolina
- Acceptance Rate: 61%
- Undergraduate Enrollment: 28,470
- Average SAT Score: 1190-1370
- Average ACT Score: 26-32
- Average High School GPA: 3.7
- Cost of Attendance: In State: $38,404; Out-of-state: $61,688
16)
- Location: Miami, Florida
- Acceptance Rate: 59%
- Undergraduate Enrollment: 44,045
- Average SAT Score: 1060-1240
- Average ACT Score: 20-26
- Average High School GPA: 4.1
- Cost of Attendance: In State: $27,278; Out-of-state: $39,676
17)
- Location: Blacksburg, Virginia
- Acceptance Rate: 55%
- Undergraduate Enrollment: 31,035
- Average SAT Score: 1280-1450
- Average ACT Score: 28-32
- Average High School GPA: 4.09
- Cost of Attendance: In State: $39,670; Out-of-state: $62,014
Good Safety Schools in the Midwest
18)
- Location: Lawrence, Kansas
- Acceptance Rate: 93%
- Undergraduate Enrollment: 22,085
- Average SAT Range: 1090-1180
- Average ACT Range: 20-24
- Average High School GPA: 3.68
- Cost of Attendance: In state: $29,740; Out-of-state: $47,894
19)
- Location: Eau Claire, Wisconsin
- Acceptance Rate: 88%
- Undergraduate Enrollment: 8,765
- Average SAT Score: 1130-1360
- Average ACT Score: 22-28
- Average High School GPA: 3.56
- Cost of Attendance: In State: $18,761; Out-of-state: $28,347
20)
- Location: Iowa City, Iowa
- Acceptance Rate: 84%
- Undergraduate Enrollment: 22,738
- Average SAT Score: 1140-1310
- Average ACT Score: 21-28
- Average High School GPA: 3.8
- Cost of Attendance: In State: $30,511; Out-of-state: $52,599
21)
- Location: East Lansing, Michigan
- Acceptance Rate: 84%
- Undergraduate Enrollment: 40,483
- Average SAT Range: 1100-1300
- Average ACT Range: 24-30
- Average High School GPA: 3.8
- Cost of Attendance: In State: $35,588; Out-of-state: $64,250
22)
- Location: Oxford, Ohio
- Acceptance Rate: 82%
- Undergraduate Enrollment: 16,478
- Average SAT Range: 1130-1330
- Average ACT Range: 26-31
- Average High School GPA: 3.87
- Cost of Attendance: In state: $34,912; Out-of-state: $57,572
23)
- Location: Columbia, Missouri
- Acceptance Rate: 77%
- Undergraduate Enrollment: 23,629
- Average SAT Range: 1150-1330
- Average ACT Range: 23-29
- Average High School GPA: N/A
- Cost of Attendance: In state: $28,530; Out-of-state: $49,740
24)
- Location: Norman, Oklahoma
- Acceptance Rate: 76%
- Undergraduate Enrollment: 22,046
- Average SAT Range: 1150-1310
- Average ACT Range: 23-29
- Average High School GPA: 3.6
- Cost of Attendance: In state: $37,823; Out-of-state: $55,403
25)
- Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota
- Acceptance Rate: 80%
- Undergraduate Enrollment: 39,248
- Average SAT Score: 1320-1470
- Average ACT Score: 26-31
- Average High School GPA: N/A
- Cost of Attendance: In State: $34,576; Out-of-state: $57,224
26)
- Location: Bloomington, Indiana
- Acceptance Rate: 78%
- Undergraduate Enrollment: 41,303
- Average SAT Range: 1180-1390
- Average ACT Range: 27-33
- Average High School GPA: 3.76
- Cost of Attendance: In state: $31,164; Out-of-state: $61,506
27)
- Location: Wooster, Ohio
- Acceptance Rate: 54%
- Undergraduate Enrollment: 1,876
- Average SAT Range: 1280-1430
- Average ACT Range: 27-32
- Average High School GPA: 3.69
- Cost of Attendance: $79,560
Good Safety Schools in the West
28)
- Location: Laramie, Wyoming
- Acceptance Rate: 97%
- Undergraduate Enrollment: 8,250
- Average SAT Score: 1030-1260
- Average ACT Score: 20-27
- Average High School GPA: 3.57
- Cost of Attendance: In State: $26,716; Out-of-state: $43,836
29)
- Location: Eugene, Oregon
- Acceptance Rate: 88%
- Undergraduate Enrollment: 20,622
- Average SAT Score: 1130-1360
- Average ACT Score: 23-30
- Average High School GPA: 3.73
- Cost of Attendance: In State: $38,607; Out-of-state: $68,931
30)
- Location: Tempe, Arizona
- Acceptance Rate: 90%
- Undergraduate Enrollment: 65,450
- Average SAT Range: 1140-1380
- Average ACT Range: 20-28
- Average High School GPA: 3.53
- Cost of Attendance: In state: $36,114; Out-of-state: $58,306
31)
- Location: Tucson, Arizona
- Acceptance Rate: 86%
- Undergraduate Enrollment: 42,075
- Average SAT Score: 1150-1350
- Average ACT Score: 21-28
- Average High School GPA: 3.5
- Cost of Attendance: In State: $36,700; Out-of-state: $65,900
32)
- Location: Salt Lake City, Utah
- Acceptance Rate: 86%
- Undergraduate Enrollment: 28,064
- Average SAT Score: 1200-1370
- Average ACT Score: 22-29
- Average High School GPA: 3.67
- Cost of Attendance: In state: $40,846; Out-of-state: $62,590
33)
- Location: Spokane, Washington
- Acceptance Rate: 82%
- Undergraduate Enrollment: 5,281
- Average SAT Score: 1200-1380
- Average ACT Score: 27-31
- Average High School GPA: 3.66
- Cost of Attendance: $79,798
34)
- Location: Boulder, Colorado
- Acceptance Rate: 76%
- Undergraduate Enrollment: 33,384
- Average SAT Range: 1180-1390
- Average ACT Range: 27-33
- Average High School GPA: 3.79
- Cost of Attendance: In state: $32,996; Out-of-state: $62,616
35)
- Location: San Francisco, California
- Acceptance Rate: 62%
- Undergraduate Enrollment: 5,321
- Average SAT Score: 1200-1380
- Average ACT Score: 25-30
- Average High School GPA: 3.62
- Cost of Attendance: $86,616
Additional Resources
Need more help with college list-building? You may also want to check out other relevant blogs:
