The Hazards of Applying To a Reach School  Last Updated Sep 19,
2011 5:23 PM EDT  Is your child planning on applying to any
reach schools? High school counselors love to tell teenagers to
include some reach schools on their lists, but for many students
this can be a dangerous strategy. Before I explain why, here's
the definition of a reach school:  A college is characterized as
a reach school if a student's academic profile is below the
average students who attend the school. For instance, if the
average GPA for freshmen at a school is 3.7 with an average 1900
SAT score and an applicant's GPA is 3.25 and SAT score is 1600,
this would qualify as a reach school.  The Hazards of Reach
Schools  There is nothing wrong with aiming high unless you're
worried about paying for college and unfortunately most families
fall into this category. Students who barely get into reach
schools will often not receive attractive financial aid packages
or merit awards. In fact, they may only get an aid package
stuffed with loans.