After the results are released — typically a few weeks after the exam — you have a short window to lock in your ranked list of universities and courses. This is when the actual decision about where you spend the next three or four years gets made.
The dominant application format is a ranked list: you rank a handful of universities in order of preference and the system slots you into the highest-ranked one that will admit you at your grade.
The classic strategy is reach / target / safety. A couple of reach schools whose historical cutoff is slightly above your score. Several target schools where you are safely admissible. A few safeties clearly below your score.
Look at historical cutoff scores for the past three years, not just last year. Cutoffs bounce. A one-year dip does not make a school a safety.
Read the course description carefully. A university you can get into does not guarantee the specific course you want in that university — many courses have their own tighter cutoffs.
Do not choose a course only because its cutoff is high. High cutoff often means everyone else also thought it was prestigious, not that the programme is best for you.