This can be a real challenge, but at least one avenue to try is to pitch a school to them not as a Safety/Target per se, but as a place which is actually unusually suitable for you academically. Speaking as a parent, we don’t always feel great when we think that our kid is settling for a lesser version of something and that they could do better. But if we understand why our kids are really excited about something in particular, that can go a long way to reducing those concerns.
2 Likes