I’ll link to a recent thread about a student who was waitlisted at several California schools and is now looking at community college. Waitlisted at 5 UC’s and one CSU denial The student was accepted at U of Arizona with merit, but the parent says it isn’t her vibe. This drills home the point that a safety isn’t a safety if the student wouldn’t be happy attending.
There is another long thread where the parent says that their student will either go to a top 35 with merit, or will go to community college. There are thousands of excellent schools beyond the top 35. Help your students be open to opportunities and places that they have yet to discover.