My kid sent to only 2 “top 20” schools, though kids in his school are often admitted to several of the “bottom half” of that list. He “wasted” his ED on Duke (in hindsight, he says he would not even be interested in Duke now. The rest he was just not interested in. He ended up at Michigan, where I think ppl tend to think all the top 20 rejects end up. But honestly, it is an amazing school, a huge acedemic challenge, and it is his best fit, regardless of its ranking.
He went into it looking for one thing and came out seeking another. It’s too bad they can’t have that wisdom upfront:( Parents too!