Convincing Yourself to Apply to a Safety School

Everyone has a dream school. Maybe it's in the Ivy League, maybe it's a prestigious "trade school", maybe it's just a University that you saw when you were a kid and vowed you would go to one day. And with that day fast approaching, it's easy to settle into the mental picture of you, sitting around on the grassy field under the big tree, drinking coffee and reading the really insightful book your professor suggested while your newly made friends text you about how amazing the school is. There's just one problem with that fantasy: it belongs to thousands, maybe even tens of thousands of other high school seniors.
That alone is not a reason to wallow in self-pity and resign yourself to a life of retail jobs or decide that college isn't important. There is another option, although no one really wants to admit it: safety schools.
It's not an attractive option, but it's one that needs to be kept open. Sure, it might be a little bit embarrassing to tell your friend that recieved a full-ride scholarship to your dream school that you will be attending Sacramento State after proclaiming that University X was the only school for you--it'll probably even make you a little bit mad, but there's nothing wrong with going to a state school. There's nothing wrong with going to a safety school. They're safe. They give you options, and they make sure that you don't end up flipping burgers when you're sixty because you can't afford to retire.
Just a little reminder: if you go to a state school and hate it, are not happy, cannot stand a single thing about it, feel like you're being cheated out of an education or simply can't stand going to your high school reunion and being permanently linked to a "safety school", many colleges accept transfer students. Most UC's accept transfers after their sophomore year.
Don't just apply to make your parents happy. Make sure that the school you send your application to is one that you could maybe possibly see yourself going to, and apply early! Actually attending a safety school should be a distinct possibility when you apply.
I recently went on a college-tour-extraveganza in Southern California to look at all of the schools that I want to attend there, as well as those that I know that I don't. I looked at some of the state schools and decided that I wasn't going to apply to one of them because I simply couldn't picture myself there. I don't want to picture myself at a "safety school", mostly because my parents have talked about me going to an extremely great school my entire life, but who knows? Getting into college is getting more and more challenging. I took the SAT and the ACT for the first time and got a 1920 and a 29, respectively. They aren't bad scores, but are they good enough to get me into my dream school, Columbia University in New York? Probably not. They might not even be good enough to get me into the UC's I'm considering. I could very well end up at a state school, and I have learned that that's just okay.
Safety schools can also offer excellent educations. Cal State Poly is considered a back up for some, sure, but if someone is looking to go into their engineering program, they had better be ready to step up. Cal State Fullerton is one of the top sixteen theatre schools in the entire country. Teachers at these schools are just as enthusiastic to be teaching their material as anywhere else. There are great educations everywhere. It's not limited to the Ivy League.
So remember: regardless of what your peers, parents, teachers and counselors may be saying, apply to at least two safety schools. Make sure you could see yourself at these schools for at least two years, if not four, and know that it's just not the end of the world. There's always grad school.