If your daughter is interested in pre-law or pre-med, I strongly encourage attending community college. Transfer scholarships are based on college GPA rather than SAT/ACT scores. She can take the difficult classes at a reasonable pace increasing her chance of a higher GPA with minimal cost. If she would prefer to enroll at San Diego State (you say she has a guarantee?), this would be fine too, since she can live at home. She could always move to campus later if she earns additional scholarships.
Although many schools’ scholarships cover tuition, the cost of housing and meals in California can range up to 15,000.00/year depending on the school. 4 years of these costs will be substantial. If she attends law school or grad school, this will add thousands more. Scholarships may not be easy to obtain at the Masters’ and beyond level and carrying debt is the last thing one would want.
It can’t hurt to apply to some privates just to see what they offer. I know that some smaller privates have special scholarships and if she were to e-mail interest, they often do not charge for the application. I know that Cal Lutheran and Fresno Pacific have special scholarships and only use the FAFSA. Both of these schools have a student body of less than 5000. But again, the issue of the cost of 4-8 years room and board needs to be looked at.
My best to you!