Agree -definitely not a hard and fast rule…I’m cautioning against thinking those schools are definitively in the “target” category. One can never be sure how all the institutional priorities for the school will factor in, yet some students think their chances are mainly dictated by their stats and by the school’s overall acceptance rate (as if schools don’t have reasons other than strength of application to decline to admit students).
I’d add to your good point that many times kids with the most significant financial need would be accepted at those need-aware schools (over kids with somewhat less financial need) because the school has set priorities in terms of where to spend their financial aid dollars to align with particular other priorities (first gen, low income, rural). So need itself does not in any way mean you can’t get in - it may actually be a positive factor in admissions for some. But it can be an admissions factor (not only an affordability factor) among many that the OP should recognize when trying to build a balanced list.