Worth applying to reaches? Forum

[NonTradHealthLaw]

Do y'all think there is any reason to apply to schools that I'm highly unlikely to attend for the prestige of acceptance? Is there any sort of professional capital gained by "I was accepted by XXX, but due to extenuating circumstances, I chose YYY."

Numbers = 3.5/167, 10y WE

[r6_philly]

I know what people are going to say, but I do hear it all the time in business, and it carries some unofficial weight. But since these claims are not verifiable, it's really just a cocktail party convo at best. It's risky in professional situations because you are almost implying the school you went to is not as good (and your degree/credential is not as good). If you are talking about "I got into Harvard but decided to stay close to home at Duke" well it's one thing, "I got into Fordham, but decided to stay close to home at Temple is going to feel different".

ETA maybe you can use that to try to negotiate aid, but generally why apply to a reach school if you don't want to go? We do that for safeties, not reaches.

[Capitol A]

I think it's worth applying to the reaches that you would consider paying sticker to attend. For example, if HYS were your reaches, I'd say go for it because you'd probably be willing to pay sticker at those places on the off chance you were admitted (maybe the same applies to any school in the t14). On the other hand, if your reach was GA state (somewhere I believe you are applying), I would say don't bother; you're better off going to a lower ranked school with some scholarship money.
As far as being able to say: "I got into xxx." That's really more for your own sense of pride/ego; not that that doesn't count for something personally, but you're not going to put it on a resume.

Edit: Not that GA State is a reach for you, and not that it's not a good school, particularly for health law, because it is.

[NonTradHealthLaw]

Thanks for your thoughts. Seems like the measuring stick is how much my ego needs stroking. Does the "what other schools were you considering" question ever come up in OCI?

[dakatz]

Do y'all think there is any reason to apply to schools that I'm highly unlikely to attend for the prestige of acceptance? Is there any sort of professional capital gained by "I was accepted by XXX, but due to extenuating circumstances, I chose YYY."

Numbers = 3.5/167, 10y WE

The answer is YES! But you are missing the real reason. You can use higher level acceptances as bargaining chips in scholarship negotiation. I sent out apps due to fee waivers at some schools that were super reaches for me. And for whatever reason, one accepted me. This acceptance certainly carried weight and helped me negotiate up scholarships from 2 other schools that I was more realistically considering.