<p>I agree that there isn’t any hard and fast rule about how many safeties. Doesn’t even have to be any, if you have a safety plan in mind. What I want families to avoid is the situation where the student has only alternatives that s/he absolutely abhors and is miserable. By talking about alternatives, looking at some safety situations and not making a highly selective school an “end of the world if you don’t get in” scenario can make life so much easier and happier.</p>