@igitur - One of the first common pieces of advice that D threw out the window when creating her school list was “first decide if you want a Conservatory, BFA or a BA”. She considered that advice, but quickly realized that following it made zero sense for her as the schools of interest to her spanned all categories, and the two most similar programs (even according to both department chairs) were Northwestern and UMich, a BA and a BFA.
I’ve also seen that many 17-year-olds will radically revise their thinking about what they want during the 8 months that can be between applying and accepting offers, so I think it’s a good idea to include a wide variety of options on your list.