Safety, target and reach schools: what the words mean

Nick's answer is to sort colleges into three buckets by comparing your GPA and test score against the range a college typically admits. Using Pepperdine, where the typical admitted range is 1270 to 1440 on the SAT and 26 to 31 on the ACT, a score above the range makes it a safety, a score below it makes it a reach, and a score inside it makes it a target.

Recorded January 2025.

Transcript

I want to have three different buckets of colleges. I want to have safety schools, target schools, and reach schools. The safety schools will be the ones where my GPA and my standardized test score are above the typically admitted student. If we look at Pepperdine on your screen there, a typically admitted student 1270 to 1440 is the SAT range, and 26 to 31 is the typical ACT range for students who are admitted to Pepperdine. So, if you are above a 1440, that goes into your safety bucket. If you're below 1270, that goes into your reach bucket. If you're in that range, then that's a target school for you. And hopefully, you'll find a number of schools that fall into each of these three buckets.

More explainers for parents: https://www.prepgurus.com/13secrets (the free 13 Secrets to College Admission guide) and https://highschoolreach.com (look up any high school's college outcomes)