Oh yes, the greatest ironic question of all. Those that are deemed easier schools to get into with perhaps laxer standards end up having many more people who apply which ends up making the pool competitive anyways. There's no way to win other than to cross your fingers and apply everywhere! Also, you should realize that there are some schools that actually have overlap in applicants. Take the 'best' schools for example - you'll find that everyone ends up applying similarly so the numbers are really diminished in that respect. That doesn't lessen the competition, it just means that everyone will fight for those waitlist spots. It's an awful game really.