I listed UT Dallas and Texas A&M as safeties due to their high acceptance rates, NMF scholarships, and based on students within my area that have gotten accepted into their schools.
From what I can tell, the majority of my stats except class rank fall within the upper percentiles of these schools, and although they enforce 10% automatic admission it is more common for them to not yield all these students, with the bulk of their class based in a lower percentile group based on common data set statistics.
Of course, no admission is 100% guaranteed, but unless major issues occur in my application I am quite confident in acceptances to these schools. NMSQT also provides a full ride + stipend to UT Dallas, so I can’t see any reason for me not to get into it as a safety. I do come from one of the most competitive districts in Texas, with the majority of our top 10-15% of students going to competitive schools, and the majority of admits to UTD and A&M coming from significantly lower class rank percentiles. Therefore I do think its reasonable to list these schools as safeties, regardless of texas class rank laws, as the only school that heavily enforces these rules for admission is UT Austin.
There is no cost limit on what my parents can pay including medical school before loans. I am fortunate to be in this position, but I will still look into scholarships and merit-based programs elsewhere as medical school is expensive regardless of affordability.