<p>I think the biggest division is between medium/large universities and smaller liberal arts colleges. Once you decide which of those two sets you are interested in, then your selection process becomes more focused. If you like the LACs, you could use the US News rankings as a rough proxy for quality and choose a school in each decile (top 10, second 10, etc.) down as far as you want to go. Make sure the school you choose in each decile meets your other criteria. This will give you a gradient of schools of varying selectivity.</p>
<p>We used this model with oldest son; his marks are not so different from yours. He didn’t apply to a top 10, got in to his second 10 choice, denied 3rd 10, and admitted 4th, 5th, and 7th (skipped a 6th 10 school). But don’t put undue emphasis on the rankings to guide your final choice. S1 chose his 5th decile school to attend.</p>
<p>You could use a similar gradient approach with larger schools as well, if that is your preference.</p>