Definition:

A safe school is a school at which your child can be reasonably certain of getting accepted. Put another way, your child's profile matches what the school is looking for. When you develop a short list of schools to which you wish to apply, make sure at least one school is a safe school. Your short list should have 3-4 schools. One should be a safe school, the other two can be reaches or more competitive in terms of what your child offers.

It makes no sense to apply to 3-4 highly competitive schools unless your educational consultant agrees unequivocally with that move. Why risk disappointment?

Please understand that a safe school is in no way an inferior school. It is merely a school which is a good fit as well as being a school to which your child is reasonably assured of gaining admission.

Find more terms in the Private School Glossary.

Examples: Bill's father graduated from Ravenscroft. Bill has been a top student throughout his middle school years in public school. He has a really good chance of getting into Ravenscroft if he chooses to apply there for 10th grade.