Let me just throw this out there (because we get a lot of threads like this) - and be honest! How overjoyed would you be, if you got into a T50 school no one in your immediate vicinity has ever heard of? Would you be willing to pay $20K a year to attend Claremont-McKenna? Or, Wesleyan, Hamilton and Colby?
The Strongest And Weakest Colleges In America — Behind Forbes 2022 Financial Grades
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As long as you have a couple of TRUE safeties - schools where you’d be happy to attend and able to afford, I think it’s find to have a lot of reach schools. And it also doesn’t bother me when students have a diverse list. My daughter started her list based on her major - which schools offered what she was looking for. She then started narrowing down based on other “fit” factors but some of her tops choices ended up being quite different from one another. She appreciated different things about each school and could see pros and cons of each.
I would recommend that once you research your options that you start applying in priority order. I would start with a couple of safties, then your REA/EA schools. Once you start getting some acceptances you might start knocking some schools off your list. My D started deciding there were schools on her list she would likely not accept over some where she’d already been accepted, so she just didn’t bother applying. She also got burned out and didn’t apply to every school on her list for RD. Don’t underestimate the amount of time all those essays take, especially if you plan to apply for some of those big merit scholarships.
Also, as others have recommended, you definitely need to run the NPC for the schools on your list. Some are meets-full-need schools (like Rice) so you and your parents should understand what the school sees as your need. There might be some schools you’ll eliminate based on cost.
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This interview (Meet the New Faculty: Jason Cieply, Russian Studies - News - Hamilton College) compares the atmospheres of a few highly selective liberal arts colleges to that of a highly selective university, and may be worth considering for the contrast it presents:
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This site may provide you with further ideas:
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Maybe it’s because people at Stanford focus on solving real world, practical problems?
I think there’s a place for both the research uni focus and the LAC search for knowledge focus. This reinforces why fit is so important for a student and expands to fit also being important for faculty.
There is no one size fits all and no right answer for the masses. I just hope this isn’t going to spin off into yet another discussion of research uni vs LAC. 
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Yale was my first thought as I read your intro, before I saw it was at the top of your list.
No UChicago? That seems to fit the pattern.
Emory comes to mind as another school that’s strong in all of your areas of interest, and good for students looking for intellectual exploration. It’s in the range of competitiveness of your existing list of RD schools, which may already be long enough, but fwiw.
Are you male or female? (The Deep Springs reference would have settled that in the past, but no longer) If female, then applying to Scripps as well as Pomona would be smart, as all of the same exploration opportunities would be available and you might even get merit aid, which isn’t a thing at Pomona. (CMC and Pitzer are worth considering also, although CMC has a much more pre-professional vibe.) Likewise, other women’s colleges on the east coast would fit your criteria as well, if you fit theirs (i.e. not being a guy…).
If you could pick an area of focus, I could see you liking Oxford/Cambridge, and being a strong candidate assuming your AP scores are high.
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UChicago’s (maybe undeserved?) reputation of being “where fun goes to die” initially turned me away from it–but I’ll definitely take a second look. I can definitely look into emory, too!
I’m male, so no scripps or wellesley for me :(.
I really love the idea of oxford/cambridge and have seriously looked into it before–the sole focus on one area of study scares me a little, although there are several courses that do really interest me (namely Math/Philosophy and PPE). AP scores are high (assuming 2022 scores went well, at least), so that would be a potentially great option!
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I think you need to narrow down you list of schools and potential majors.
Do they take US undergrads at oxbridge?
Stanford is really Silicon Valley oriented.
A public policy major, which relies on the fields of political science, economics and philosophy for its foundation, may be of interest. In essence, this course of study emphasizes practical approaches to complex problems. This site shows examples of schools that offer this major:
For the additional academic interests you mentioned above (although in separated form), these sites could be helpful:
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I think you’ll get into a T20 school. And if you dont, UMD would be a great safety.
Im sure it’s a contrarian view on CC.
Student: I have a 4.9 GPA, 1590 SAT’s and have created an economic model predicting recessions.
CC posters: You have too many reaches. You should look at SW Montana State. They have a great business school and if you look on LinkedIn, there’s a guy who graduated there and now works at Goldman Sachs.
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For a male applicant with your profile, Vassar, which would suit your key preference for an intellectual atmosphere, may represent a match.
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Seconding Vassar! Think of it as a mini-Yale in the mountains/by a river. 
Further than your preferred region but you’d get a boost from that geographical fact, look into Carleton and Grinnell for intellectual+outdoorsy.
Run the NPC.
UMD Honors would be your general back up.
Penn State Schreyer would be a good fit but is likely too expensive
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Will definitely look into Vassar, Carleton and Grinnell! Thank you so much for your help!
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I wasn’t going to take the bait originally, but I’ve changed my mind. OP has said that his family has an EFC of around $20k. OP has not clarified if that’s what his family is planning on contributing or what the schools think his family can afford. If his family is willing and able to afford what the schools calculate as the EFC, then if OP so desires, OP is likely to go to a Top X college.
If, however, the college’s EFC is not affordable for the family, OP needs to look for a full tuition scholarship. And there’s also nothing to sneeze about at getting a full ride, which OP is very capable of getting. It may (or may not) be a full ride to Duke or one of the few Top X schools that offer merit aid, but admission to one of those schools is tough enough as it is; banking on getting the most generous merit aid would be foolhardy. Thus, looking at schools that are less competitive and would be super enthusiastic to have OP on their campus (and willing to show him the $) would be advisable.
There are lots of strong students who choose to go somewhere beyond the Top X schools and for reasons beyond finances. If OP finds a school with the programs he’s interested in in a location that he likes and at a price that his family can afford, then that’s what’s best for him, no matter what its USNWR ranking.
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If you crave a relatively more intellectual atmosphere, I would add UChicago and Columbia (or Princeton) and maybe remove Stanford and BU.
UChicago – Core, highly intellectual reputation: learning for learning’s sake
Columbia – Also has a core and is very strong in the humanities/social sciences
Princeton – Senior thesis requirement
These schools are among the very best private universities and are not typically regarded as bastions of pre-professionalism.
You already have several LACs on your list, but you might consider Reed, Vassar, and Wesleyan as well.
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My post wasn’t specifically directed at you but more of an overall theme I see on CC.
I get the finances. I get looking for realistic options and UMD is a very good state school option.
Maybe Im wrong but I doubt OP would have a hard time getting into UMD with an almost perfect SAT score, 4.0 GPA, and state and regional awards, etc etc…
UMD also offers several merit aid scholarships.
OP is requesting a school with “intellectual atmosphere, full of high-achieving people”. Is that UNC Asheville with an 80% acceptance rate and average SAT score of 1150?
The majority of OP’s list is T20 schools with a good state school option.
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Are you talking about an - Alabama with Randall Research - so he’s with smart kids - where OP might get something like this? Just an example - I know other schools are out there - but more difficult - i.e. UNC, UVA, W&L, SMU, etc. There’s other publics with programs like this…
A student with a 4.0+ GPA and 36 ACT OR 1600 SAT will be selected as a Presidential Elite Scholar and will receive:
- Value of tuition for up to four years or eight semesters for degree-seeking undergraduate and graduate or law studies
- First year of on-campus housing at regular room rate (based on assignment by Housing and Residential Communities)
- $1,000 per year supplemental scholarship for four years
- $2,000 one-time allowance for use in summer research or international study (after completing one year of study at UA)
- $2,000 Supe Store book scholarship ($500 per year for four years)