What about her approach bothers you? Do you know every one of the 17 schools she applied to? And why are you posting about some random classmate anyway?
Chances are she is going to get into some of the schools. And if she doesn’t there are hundreds of schools she will still be able to apply to after April 1st. My son’s inbox is blowing up every day with schools telling him that it is “not too late to apply AND get merit.” There are plenty of schools you can apply to and get on the spot acceptances even in August. There is no such thing as getting shut out of college.
Keep in mind that a safety school is only a safety if you will be happy to attend. Perhaps she has her sights set on certain schools, and if she doesn’t get into any of them she will regroup and take a gap year. There is a “cautionary tale” from years ago floating around CC about a top stat kids that got rejected everywhere and that is exactly what he did. He ended up getting what he wanted in the end-MIT I believe.