I agree with your earlier comment that finding a true safety (where he/she will be happy to attend) is not possible for every kid. My kids didn’t love their safeties but they are excellent schools and I do think they would have ended up happy there.
I also think your D does need to apply widely, but think about balancing the number of schools with potential burnout on essay writing and showing interest/contacting AOs. While I do agree showing fit through essays can be important, I almost think that just writing great essays and being an interesting person is more important (assuming the student has strong stats and other accomplishments). I’ve read many threads and comments on elite college admissions and some argue for demonstrating how the student fits at that school while others say that sometimes what a college wants in terms of fit is not clear to the applicants but it is to the AOs. Further, since these colleges want diverse classes, different students will fit in different ways. From my experience with two kids, I think the quality of their essays and demonstrating who they are had more to do with their acceptances than showing particular fits for those schools. But who knows?
I had crazy college admissions rides with both D17 and S19 - lots of RD applications due to the need for comparing financial offers. With D17, she applied to almost all LACs and we visited many (Davidson and Richmond were among her top three choices). She ended up at Vassar even though were not able to visit!
S19 had more reaches on his list due to seeking greater FA but had a combination of LACs and universities. His results were a bit surprising and I’m glad to hear that your D feels she would be happy at many of the schools on her list. You never know what’s going to happen on this roller coaster! I won’t list all of his results but he was wait listed at Amherst, Williams, and Carlton but accepted to Brown (under 5% RD acceptance rate) and Vanderbilt (under 7% RD acceptance rate). Best of luck to your D! I think she’ll have some great choices.