And most students I know do just that. They might apply to 3 or 4 Ivy+ schools but they’re not shotgunning. They’re also not applying to 5 safeties. It’s schools with higher than single digit/teen admit rates, yet with solid reputations and great programs (particularly for CS, engineering, business, etc) that are seeing a large increase in applications from these kids.
When a high stats kid can’t be sure of admission to their in-state very popular flagship, then they’re going to apply to many more schools than they otherwise would have.