So, here is my $0.02. With $20K EFC, shotgunning is a terrible idea. It would be a great idea if your EFC was around $45K.
I would suggest you look at need blind privates, auto-merit OOS publics and your in state flagship/s in MD.
Also, your profile is not complete. Several other factors come into play in admissions, such as race, special ability, geographic location, potential to become a donor later in life etc. etc.
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It’s worth noting that this requirement is one of the reasons Princeton does not allow students to double major, something possibly of interest to OP given their disparate interests.
It does offer certificate programs, though, sort of halfway between a major and minor.
Take a look at Haverford, which isn’t quite as intense as Swarthmore. Macalester might be a good fit as well.
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I think there are many state-supported institutions with valid reasons for having a diverse, intellectually curious student body with less than sky-high SATs. UT-Austin, for example, has an average SAT of 1350 for enrolled students. Doesn’t mean someone with the OP’s stats couldn’t find their peep.
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Users who have been here for some time - which would include one half of the debating duo - know my philosophy; when a kid starts a thread with a question, the answers should focus on the kid’s question. Nowhere did the OP what average SAT constitutes an intellectual experience. And a reminder that debating violates ToS. Several posts deleted. Move the conversation forward please.
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Personally I think the OP has a good grasp of where they fit and the schools they are targeting.
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Have a kid like that. My one and only suggestion is pick a major and pretend you think you are going into it. Being “all over the map” won’t help you even with outstanding stats. My kid had two pointy areas: one STEM, one humanities. My kids split the many apps into three categories: one specific STEM field ( 100% college acceptance), one combo (mixed results but strong nonetheless about 40%), last bucket was interests expressed but basically saying undeclared major ( poor results less than 10%). All schools were the same basic level ( Top 20).
These readers need to digest quickly. There are tons of kids that can easily be put in a pile. Be one of those kids. Create a total story that’s easy to digest.
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Another vote for Wesleyan, here. It’s a lot closer to MD than Bowdoin and is within walking distance of a scenic bend of the Connecticut River. It’s also next door to the historic Portland, Connecticut brownstone quarries:
Quarrying on this site began in 1690 by James Stanclift, who contracted with the town of Middletown to build stonework in exchange for a deed of land. Commercial quarrying started in 1783 when the Brainerd Quarry Company began operations. During the peak of the brownstone era, more than 1500 workers were employed by the quarries, which shipped stone on their own ships for eight months out of the year.[5] Proceeds from the quarrying business were deeded to Wesleyan University from 1833 through 1884, and stone from the quarries was used to build many campus buildings.[6] As tastes in buildings shifted, and concrete became the material of choice, the demand for brownstone declined. A flood in 1936 and a hurricane in 1938 flooded the quarries, ending their operations.[5] All efforts to drain the flooded quarries have been unsuccessful; one theory is that the floods opened some underground springs, making it impossible to effectively drain the quarries.[6]
Portland Brownstone Quarries - Wikipedia
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I’ve long thought that Vassar is a pretty similar school to Wes, so I listed it as well. Do you think that’s accurate?
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I think they are! Both have passionate theater and film programs. I’ve always said, “Vassar is Wesleyan without a football team.”
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I really like that advice! I think I’m similar–maybe not in the spikes in my application, but I’m really into math and would love doing philosophy or something similar. Will definitely keep in mind as I start to draft a narrative for my apps
Definitely going to look more closely at vassar and wesleyan now, thank you so much 
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Be careful about weaving together two disparate interests/majors. Most people can’t handle it for some reason. There was just a discussion about double majors having no value. I’m am diametrically opposed and could see value in doubling up but the results (data point of 1) were poor. My '22 also thought friends had much better results when they were highly focused.
Thanks for your perspective–in what sense do you mean highly focused? In ECs and spikes mentioned in the application? Mentioned in essays or supplementals, or just intended majors? I have two major ECs–one a school literary magazine, the other a business-related org with state leadership. Neither of these relate to my most likely majors, so I’m not sure how I would put your advice into practice.
What I mean is don’t say “I want to major in aeronautical engineering and public policy and work to develop space policy” Even if your EC’s support two very different fields, I think many people (AO’s) can’t see much beyond a straight line or fields that are often connected.
It’s an opinion so others may have had different outcomes. Not enough time is spent on application review IMO. So I think the connection needs to be clear and simple. Don’t forget many first readers are hired to read thousands of applications. So you aren’t going to necessarily get someone reading your app who is looking to get it. Keep things simple and write from the perspective of what you are going to do for the college.
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That makes a lot more sense, I understand what you’re saying. Thank you!
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sounds like a Wesleyan student to me
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If you’re thinking about Wesleyan and interested in PPE, I recommend checking out their College of Social Studies (CSS) program. It’s the closest thing the US has to the Oxford PPE program in terms of structure (very similar tutorials and exams), but it comes without many of the downsides – you have ample room to take courses outside the program and don’t need to declare immediately. I believe Claremont McKenna has a similar program.
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You can’t denigrate Stanford students like this and expect it to go unchecked. And this guy’s promotion of Williams hasn’t really helped, the cross-admit data has 89% for Stanford, 11% for Williams. In this case of course, Williams could be a better fit.
Anyway, I grew up a few years in Poughkeepsie, about 10 minutes from Vassar, and would recommend it as well for the reasons others have said. However it’s not really a outdoorsy place like Williams or Dartmouth. And Vassar kids tend to got NYC than say Lake George on weekends or in their spare time.
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