Question

Which of the following is true about reach schools?


Some reach schools have open admission policies.

All students should include an Ivy League school in their list of reach schools.

Even if you don’t match the typical academic profile for admitted students, your extracurricular activities, community involvement, and other strengths might help you get in.

The majority of schools in your College Matrix should be reach schools

Answer 1

Only the third statement is true.

- False: "Some reach schools have open admission policies." — Open-admission schools accept most or all applicants, so they can’t be "reach" schools for applicants.
- False: "All students should include an Ivy League school in their list of reach schools." — Including an Ivy is optional and depends on fit, interests, and goals; it’s not required for every student.
- True: "Even if you don’t match the typical academic profile for admitted students, your extracurricular activities, community involvement, and other strengths might help you get in." — Many selective schools use holistic review and may admit applicants who stand out in other ways.
- False: "The majority of schools in your College Matrix should be reach schools." — Typical advice is to balance your list with a mix of reaches, matches, and safeties; most shouldn’t be reaches.