I would agree with @allyphoe…our daughter just finished up her college application process and while she had 8-10 schools on her list to apply to this past June (EA and RD), she ended up applying ED to her top choice with an additional two EA applications as she wanted to be done before Christmas this year. None of the three schools she ended up applying to were even on her list at this same time Junior year.
ED school came through with a very early acceptance and even more merit money than we had hoped; we have had as happy an ‘ending’ as we could have ever imagined. Our big takeaway was that doing the research about the ins and outs of each school was really important. I truly believe it was all the work done on the front end to figure out which schools were the best ‘matches’ for our daughter that helped make this process relatively smooth and straightforward this fall.
Don’t think you need to apply to 20 different schools to find the ‘right’ one. But figure out what is really important to you (and be honest as I think a lot of what trips people up with college admissions is a struggle with honesty/authenticity of what the student and parent goals are when finding the ‘right’ college).
If going into government is on your kid’s must have list, take the time to find out what those pathways actually look like…right now it sounds like this is more of a dream than a goal let alone a plan.
If prestige is important, accept & embrace that and figure out what you are willing to pay for the pleasure of being able to brag to friends and family.
If location is the most important aspect, or quality of life…define what that means for your child and help them find a good match.
I think you might want to examine your idea that you are a family “that can afford to buy a Mercedes but would be happy buying a Honda”. Because if you were happy to buy the Honda, you could just go with the three really good options you’ve already identified. The fact you aren’t satisfied with those options says you aren’t just looking for a Honda. Figure out what you are actually looking for, and then figure out if you are willing to jump through the hoops those choices present. Good luck, you have plenty of time to figure this out and it will work out. 