One of the most effective strategies for college applicants—if you want to get in, get financial aid, and end up happy and successful in college, is to apply to a balanced list of schools. It’s a strategy that anyone, from an “A” student to a “C” student can employ. It works effectively for just about anyone. And it’s a drastically underemployed strategy in today’s pressure-packed world of admissions.
Before you employ other strategies, start with a balanced list. I explain how to do that here and here.