I guess my point is that I’ve seen so very many kids-- more here than at school, but some in both-- who are positive that a school is an absolute safety-- until they don’t get in.
I think that “safety” is a fluid thing, and that it changes radically from one admissions cycle to another depending on admissions.
In general, I think the only real safety is a school that has promised you admission before receiving your application, regardless of how high your scores are or how many wonderfully unique EC’s you have.
Additionally, it’s not a safety if you can’t afford it, though that’s not the point behind this thread.
But I think there would be a lot fewer heartbroken kids if we didn’t have so many kids absolutely positive that they would get into a school before even applying.
Schools will fill their seats with the “best” kids they can find-- and how they define “best” very likely changes from one semester to the next depending on the applications they receive.