I have to disagree with the 8 - 10 camp of parents. My daughter got rejected from her ED choice, Columbia, but got in very unexpectedly to Penn and WL’d at Harvard. If she hadn’t applied to more reach including elite LACS she never would have had the choices and opportunities she did. I don’t subscribe to the lottery theory of elite college admissions, but there is a piece of it that is driven by luck and you need to maximize your chances and take lots of shots to get the ball in the basket. The more shots you take, the greater your chances of sinking that basket.