@Hunt – I agree with your analysis – I can see a lot of kids being genuinely enthusiastic about most of the Ivy League schools – six out of eight sounds about right for a lot of kids. It just seemed unlikely that there wouldn’t be at least one where the fit wasn’t right (and plenty of alternatives in the non-Ivy, but meet-full-need, selective schools – I understand casting a wide net – my kid will probably apply to 8 reach schools, but I’m not sure if any of them will be Ivys). I’m mostly reacting to all of the kids who talk about getting into “an Ivy” who obviously know next to nothing about any of them, but say they plan to apply to all of them.
@Mothersv – look at some of the threads in which the kid ended up waitlisted at his/her first choice and either the kid or the parent believes they would have gotten in ED (and some of them are probably right). Who knows, you may have made the very best decision for your son.