There are three big components of the college search process: 1) affordability, 2) likelihood of acceptance, and 3) desire to attend. To me, a kid should look for affordable schools that they would like to attend. That’s the basis of the college search. If they like an affordable school, why does the time spent on it matter if it has an 80% acceptance rate or an 8% acceptance rate?
I’m not a big fan of the term safety because it has a negative connotation, like a school of last resort. To me, a safety is an affordable school that a kid likes that is highly likely to accept them. In reading about others’ college searches, it reminds me a bit of the Grouch Marx quote that essentially says, “I don’t want to belong to any club that would have me as a member.” If a school is highly likely to accept them and want them to enroll, then some students/families don’t think that well of the institution.
The only reason why I think of a school as a safety is that you don’t want all the affordable schools that your kid likes to have low to moderate odds of acceptance and then get shut out. You want a sure thing. But that doesn’t mean that it’s not a quality school. Also, you may want to think about the message your kid receives by which schools your family values enough to tour, and which ones it doesn’t. There is certainly no requirement to do tours of all schools. But if only the “reachier” schools are toured, then it may end up creating certain feelings in your daughter toward the “safeties,” particularly if she ends up at one.