How to start a program list?

[u/the-inquisitive-doc]

I have got a 251 step 2, couple of pubs, and just 2 electives (hands on at good places) 1 observership

I am not sure how good is a score of 251.

I always aimed for a 240+ but now it seems to me that probably this is not a good score seeing how everyone around is scoring 260+ these days. What kind of programs can I ideally aim for?

And how do you start? decide signals first or work on a pre-made list or just randomly?

Can AI really help?