FWIW- my (Cali) kid accepted to UMich, UWash (direct to program), USC with Merit Aid, McGill, NYU for ME. WL (then rejected) from REA at Stanford, also turned down at Columbia, UCB, UCLA, UCSD, UCSB, UCI, UCD. Accepted at UCSC (didn’t apply to Riverside or Merced).
And she got tons of shiny colorful brochures from every private she so much as sent a note to…
Never know how it’s going to fall out. Everybody needs a back-up plan, or two or three. The application process has gotten sillier and siller. But if you cast a wide enough net there are lots of good choices, just make sure you budget a few extra Bennies for the app process.