I cannot offer too much to the discussion except to add what our touring experience was with A&M, Baylor, and Rice. We toured last summer all three schools. D16 did not know too much about any of the schools but had the most interest in A&M.
Our first visit was Baylor. She liked the campus. It was not too big and not too small, plus it is really pretty. While it was very welcoming her biggest turn off was it is still a religious school. There were religion class requirements. She is a christian but did not like the idea that she would be mandated to take certain classes. The dorms were fairly nice and she liked the activity center.
We then drove to A&M. The size of the campus was overwhelming. It spans 5200 acres. Walking the route that we did, in the heat of the day was taxing for even our daughter. She has asthma and was having some issues. They are very steeped in tradition and seem to have a large ROTC program. Greek life was huge. My daughter did not want to stay and see the dorms. She pretty much crossed it off her list that day even though they offered in state tuition for her grades and scores. She felt lost in the sea of people and was concerned about the sheer size of the school. The buildings felt older in a not good way (1970 or 80’s feel) and she is not big on greek life. She also felt that both Baylor and A&M were in pure college towns. She did not get the idea there was much to do outside of the school. (again this is from a then 16 year old perspective)
Last visit was Rice. This is school she feel in love with. Smaller campus, no greek life. If she wanted to venture out Houston has a ton to offer and the students get discounted passes and tickets to events around town. She loved the way the dorm living was modeled. She liked the way the colleges were divided up. It’s far enough away from home that we won’t be bothering her and close enough that she can still come home for a weekend every now and then (4 hour drive). I’m sure there was much more but that’s what I remember off the top of my head.
@Redpandabear @livinginLA Thank you both for your very thoughtful summaries! Wow! There are some really great people providing information and I really appreciate it. I am still wondering about what one poster above mentioned about strategic considerations on declaring a college choice to be their number 1 choice, in terms of when does that happen (or how). This is all great information for D to consider.
I’m not really sure what the poster was referring as far as number one choice. Maybe it has to do with ED or EA?
I think the poster meant that, at some schools, in order to get the $2,500 NMF award, you had to name that school as your no. 1 choice. I didn’t have a NMSF, but I seem to remember reading that.
@livinginLA …interesting impressions! I agree with her about Baylor. Waco…eh, totally a college town. Baylor is preppy and in my opinion (would need to look at the stats) way more Greek than any of the other schools. All the preppy, higher income kids who love the prep scene but whose parents want to be reassured their kid is at a Christian school and therefore “won’t party” seem to go there. Partying does still happen or at least that is the word on the local street. Now with that said, I know that is a broad generalization. Baylor is a good school, offers decent merit and has some good programs. My D would agree with your D about the reasons not to attend.
A&M: Agreed that it is huge. The campus can be overwhelming. Once you get into your upper classes it seems much smaller. Most of my classes were in the core area i.e. there was never one by the baseball field and then the next class way at the business building. Greek life used to be a very small portion of students. What are the current stats now?
Rice: great school, great campus. Native Texans sometimes refer to Rice as “the armpit” of Texas due to the humidity. Fantastic STEM. Not much merit aid though but what a great place if it is in the budget.
Already multiple quality schools have been mentioned.
If New Orleans is not too far away, I would add Tulane to the pile. It isn’t as selective as Rice but its rep is pretty strong. It’s a pretty campus in a beautiful section of New Orleans. If you’re in East Texas, the drive might not be too terrible.
Anyway, it would be a good mid-sized private university option to fill the chasm between, say, Rice and SMU.
@prezbucky Tulane is something I hadn’t thought of. But we’re in south Texas so it would be quite a hike. Texas is so huge it’s almost its own country when it comes to how many colleges it has (being somewhat facetious)
Not that she’s not going to consider out of state colleges – she will --as soon as she’s done with the semester and June college tests she’s going to look more into all of this. I guess you could say dad is jumping the gun somewhat.
Hey, it’s not too soon to start obsessing here, among friends. 
Just don’t let your dd know how anxious you are.
I think the horse is out of the gate. lol
I figure caring a bit too much is miles better than not caring enough. So being prepared for any questions she might have is, to me, a pretty solid move.
@CorpusChristi Yes, I was referring to listing the #1 school with Nat’l Merit corp. You have until May 1st, or even later like May 31 to pick which school you want. Not until you do that is your Nat’l Merit Scholy final at that school, and they don’t immediately tell you what your whole financial aid package will be until they are listed #1. You have to work a little harder to figure out exact financial aid prior to listing them #1, but you can figure it out with a little effort and comms with fin aid departments. My S ended get NM Scholar, so he gets money from them, on top of whatever schools do. Finalists have a 50/50 chance of that.
@jjloehr thanks for solving that mystery! Good luck to your S!
If your D likes SMU and/or TCU, I would encourage her to apply. Considering your daughter’s stats, both schools would probably offer her great scholarships - perhaps even a full ride. My DC found Rice a bit too small but did like the non-greek aspect. UT was just huge, plus my DC didn’t particularly like Austin (I know, right?!?!). Chose SMU over TCU based on the honors program. Really couldn’t pass up the money SMU offered, particularly since post-grad work is on the horizon. Good luck!
@zebbadimday that’s great advice. Thank you! :)>-
Does anybody know if you receive priority registration at Texas A&M if you are in the cadet program? Are the cadets sort of insulted away from the rest of the student body at large!
@jjloehr you are very helpful indeed.
@CorpusChristi Not sure if you’re still checking this thread, but I can vouch for UH. Kind of disappointed that so few people are pushing it! I’m a freshman here with a full ride scholarship from the university (Tier One scholarship). The Honors College here sounds like it could be a good fit for your daughter… for example, all Honors freshmen take a course called the Human Situation, a “great books” course that’s basically Honors English/ history/ political science/ philosophy mixed together. PM me if you (or anyone else) has any questions about UH/ Houston/ Honors 
@b0902206 Yes that’s good to know! We’re hoping to visit in July and learn a little more about the program. Perhaps I can have her pm you later on in a few months if she has questions.