People need to also remember what it means to go to that "reach" school if you are not playing lacrosse. Don't ever under estimate the value of academic support. It varies from school to school, but at some places it is really significant. Of course they dont do the work for you; your kid still needs to study and work hard. However, it is one thing to go to Notre Dame or an Ivy with academic support and quite another to have to go it alone. If you get to your "reach" and then (1) get cut in the Fall; (2) get hurt: (3) decide you hate the coach; (4) arent playing , etc. you may find yourself suddenly separated from the team and everything that goes with it. So my two cents is by all means reach for the best school.....just make sure your kid could still survive if all the academic support went away.