Welcome!
I’ll echo some already stated advice…
Stay away from the Chance Me threads.
Hangout in the Parent Forum (for college stuff), and Parent Café (for a little socializing). At least until you feel comfortable enough to roam elsewhere.
Ask a specific question if you have one. There are some really helpful people around here.
FWIW, Carleton and St. Olaf are both very close to Lake Wobegon.
So sage advice from a non-expert…I suggest looking at anything you can read about the colleges known as “Colleges that Change Lives.” They are high quality liberal arts colleges that focus on QUALITY undergraduate education, and so they have good reputations in the real world. Different ones are better known for different subject areas, but all are known for great mentoring from faculty, one-on-one relationships that form even in the freshman year, and even very good financial aid. My sense is that they are an excellent choice for a wide range of types of students but seem to attract lots of smart, motivated kids who may not have the absolutely STELLAR records of some others but who, nonetheless, show great promise. On the other hand, with an ability to draw pokemon, given the extraordinary success of Pokemon Go…
I would respectfully disagree with @twoanddone. In fact it came off a bit condescending to me (as parents of “average” kids) and I do hope that was unintended.
I fully understand that the competition for the “average” schools is not as difficult and that the students generally get into schools they are academically qualified for and that in and of itself is a big difference as compared to Ivy and equivalent college admissions. But these students are competing with their peers for spots and still need to have essays etc that reflect their skill level. And, the fact is that there is a huge range of non Ivy and equivalent schools that an “average” student can get into and these kids need as much guidance/direction as top students in finding the right school at the right price. “Average” students can attend a wide range of public and private colleges with very different attributes ranging from a LAC (for example many of the CTCL are geared towards “average” students), some state flagships, many Jesuit colleges etc.
In addition, many “average” students can get merit aid (And while he did not get a full scholarship my “average” S did get merit aid at all but one school he applied to (including his reach school) and the aid was significant enough that it was one factor in our final decision.
Just wanted to say welcome! You see it all here at CC, but there is a bit of self-selection going on.
Take what works for you and your child!
All those kids still put their pants on one leg at a time. And most of them asking for chances and giving each other advice haven’t got much clue what gets you there.
But there are many wonderful, humble kids on CC, just looking for a little straight advice and willing to consider it. Those are the ones we often root for.
Welcome . Totally agree with @happy1 . I would also look at the Parents thread. You may also want to try the Supermatch feature where you can plug in parameters to get some suggestions of schools that may meet your needs.
My oldest and youngest (of three) had the test scores, grades, and coursework to reasonably consider applying to a good portion of the most selective colleges. My middle child took the most difficult English, History, and foreign language courses, but regular math and science. She worked diligently and always made honor roll, but she would never be the tippy top of her high school class. We started her college search by looking at the A-plus Schools for B Students list (and the Best Value colleges list). She went to a “more selective” college and it was an amazing experience. There are many outstanding schools out there that are not considered “top tier” on CC. You learn to skip over certain people’s comments to reduce your irritation. 
Gustavus Adolphus, St Ben’s/St Kate’s, and Lawrence are not that far from Lake Wobegon either, and could be possibilities for the OP’s kid. 
OP, what’s your home state? And is your daughter a rising senior now? And what’s your money situation like? With those 3 questions answered, you’re off for the races!
^Question 3a: How much can you pay for college?
Respectfully disagree.
There’s a lot more to the high school-to-college transition than just picking colleges to apply to, and a lot that parents of “ordinary” kids can learn by visiting this board and asking questions. I found plenty to post about with regard to my son, who followed the well-trodden path to our state university, just as I did with regard to my daughter, who ended up in the Ivy League.
I also recommend staying away from the ‘chance me’ threads and anything that’s sounds like ‘I got a 3.98 in a class, will that ruin my chances’. They are just depressing and not helpful at all (for me at least).
However, I have found CC posters very helpful for all levels of students. Sure, sometimes people recommend schools that are out of reach, but then someone else puts them back in line with a ‘are you nuts, did you read the OP’s post, why are you suggesting those schools’ and then the discussion gets back on track.
I end up reading more of the posts about middle of the road schools and safeties. Lots of discussion of schools for kids with grades and scores similar to your kid’s.
My feeling is there is a right school for everybody and that there is more than one path for a student to reach their goal.
For example some states have community colleges that have guaranteed admissions programs to great instate schools (Virginia) and those kids graduate with the same degree as the student who joined the same college as a freshman after transferring to that 4 year school.
The parents here are pretty fantastic whether your child is a high achiever or not. There do seem to be a lot of high acheivers here but members are willing to share a vast amount of knowledge.
If it makes you feel any better my son has very high academic stats but he is a pretty ordinary teenager. He has a job, likes to go to the beach and play poker with his buddies. He loves Pokemon go, the Madden Football game and wants to go to the Marlins game next week because he can get cheap tickets.
Reading the stats presented by some kids on this website can be overwhelming, and humbling. What I found most helpful when my daughter was applying was information about financing an education, seeking merit, and the realities of financial aid. I don’t always know why I keep coming back now that my daughter is in college. I guess I find it all interesting and I try to help sometimes in my own way. Some very nice well informed regulars here too.
Wow . . . I really didn’t expect any responses, and I thank you all for the helpful information (I lost track of which ones I tagged as “helpful,” but really, they all were.
I do wish I had shut up and read more before posting; that’s the best advice I’ve gotten so far.
Thanks again, and my apologies for the poop in the punch bowl. I’ll make a beer run to try to make up for it.
Everyone’s kids have a different path. I’ve found many on here to be really helpful. Also remember that you can PM people to ask questions, and most will email you back. For me, the 2016 group has been incredibly supportive (so, correspondingly, check out the parent group for the grad year for your child) and the college-specific forums have also been helpful. The financial aid forum is a must-read. Good luck to you and your kid!
Reading CC, it’s easy to form certain first impressions about the site and the people here, but impressions create stereotyping, and stereotypes usually only apply to a small percentage of people who express themselves with the loudest voices.
Dig beyond the surface and you’ll find a lot of really good people who initially came here looking for answers or advice, and stayed long after to help others with what they learned on their own journey.
YAY a beer run!
Seriously though, welcome!!! Do come over the the main 2017 thread, it is a wealth of information with lots of lovely lovely people. There is also a Parents of 2017 3.0 - 3.4 thread. My S17’s stats are virtually identical to your D’s, we would love to have you over there! Almost all on that thread also participate in the main 2017 one, it’s just a bit more focused on specifics to that stat group.
Great advice so far. Avoid chance me. Do look at the A+ for B students list and the CTCL schools (colleges that change lives). While one was on my radar before CC, the other was not and our current list is comprised of schools that are one or other of both of these lists. Not by design ( we didn’t use those as our filter) but because those are the ones that have “fit” my S the best and unsurprisingly are also on those lists. I personally have found the supermatch tool to be relatively worthless but…that’s me. Not quite enough filters and options to find what we are looking for, and while good schools will show up, ones we have zero interest in seem to outweigh them on many occasions. It is one tool of many. College simply has one that can filter by test score or gpa, prep scholar can chance you without you posting on the thread, college data has a great set of info for each school, basically the entire common data set…etc.
I echo the respectful disagreement that the “average” kid doesn’t need CC or direction. For any child not wishing to attend their flagship, or maybe a local directional, or perhaps can’t get in or afford said flagship…they need and deserve amazing options and they are out there. They may, after exploring those options end up in-state but at least they were able to see what the options were.
I also echo that merit aid is out there for the “average” student. And as stated, many folks on here have kids with a wide range of stats and interests. We had a solid B/B- student end up at a lovely private university and graduate on time, a high stats kid currently at a great research university, a B+/A- kid looking at all of it now and a wildcard in S19. All of the info learned is helpful to me even if not relevant to each specific kid at any one time.
I do think that CC scares many “average” kid parents away before they can even get started, you may need a bit of a thick skin at times but it is really worth it.