Personally I think this is insane. My daughter applied to three colleges 2 years ago. Got into all 3 - two in-state and 1 out of state. When the process was over I realized she really only needed to apply to 2 because she never intended on going to the third.
This year for my son, he applied only to 2 colleges, one early decision. I’m willing to bet he gets into both. Both are large unis with 100’s of majors. If he doesn’t get into his first choice then over winter break he’ll apply to his safety school.