What makes a "safe" school?

[andao72]

Hello,

I want to attend b-school in Fall 2015, pushing it out to 2016 would be very difficult. So I realize it's important to include some "safe schools" on my list. But I really have no idea what makes a safe school "safe."

For target schools, I understand you can look at average work exp, GPA and GMAT range to get an idea of who gets in. But for safe schools, how much should you exceed the averages in order to be "safe"? I guess I'm very concerned that my safe schools aren't as safe as I thought they were, and then worst case scenario I have no schools for Fall 2015

Any tips on assessing safe schools would be useful! Thanks!

[Jacob003]

Before you start applying to any safety schools, First ask yourself this relatively simple question,Would I go if I got in?. Spending time applying to an MBA program that you would not be willing to actually attend is pointless. If you choose to apply to such a school anyway, you will find yourself with no "safety" net at all.

[andao72]

Thanks for the reply. Yes, I realize it's very important to actually like the school you are applying to. I think that sort of thing shows up pretty clearly in essays and applications, and if I wasn't enthusiastic, that would probably kill my chances at any school.

In general though, I was just curious what criteria somewhat might use to help determine a safe school. I really have no idea if all my targets are too ambitious. When you look at all these acceptance rates of ~20%, I think it certainly pays to be conservative with some picks at least.

[syed20]

I want to attend b-school in Fall 2015, pushing it out to 2016 would be very difficult. So I realize it's important to include some "safe schools" on my list. But I really have no idea what makes a safe school "safe."

[interviewbay22]

Hello,

I want to attend b-school in Fall 2015, pushing it out to 2016 would be very difficult. So I realize it's important to include some "safe schools" on my list. But I really have no idea what makes a safe school "safe."

For target schools, I understand you can look at average work exp, GPA and GMAT range to get an idea of who gets in. But for safe schools, how much should you exceed the averages in order to be "safe"? I guess I'm very concerned that my safe schools aren't as safe as I thought they were, and then worst case scenario I have no schools for Fall 2015

Any tips on assessing safe schools would be useful! Thanks!

Hello

A very good way of assessing safe schools would be talking to the schools' current students and taking a look at their resume and overall profile.

If both your GPA and GMAT exceed the averages considerably, then you can consider it a safe school. If your score are only slightly above the average, then that may not help much. However, numbers alone may not help you in deciding if your work experience is good enough for a school or not because the quality of your work experience is far more important than the quantity. And obviously, there is no way to tell if your extracurricular activities are competent enough for a school or not as they are not quantified. GMAT range could be misleading as well. Students who usually get in with low scores either have great GPA, work ex and ECs or add considerable diversity and work experience to the MBA class. Whether you come under a similar category of applicant pool or not, it is not possible for one to know.

If you can provide more details of your work experience, extracurricular activities and your target schools, I could help you in judging which schools would be safe and which would be a reach.

This article can probably help you in understanding the factors that contribute to your getting selected in a top B-School application https://www.interviewbay.com/blog/6-comp ... pplication

All the best
www.interviewbay.com
Application Reviews & Mock Interviews by Alumni of Your Target Business School.

[Michael@VeritasPrep]

To me a safe school is one that you have a high likelihood of getting admission to. A school where you score above both the median gmat and gpa. Also, it should be a school you actually want to go to if you get in. A safety school is no good if you don't want to attend it if you need to.