Her school does have a software program and the data for UT Austin’s acceptance rate is consistently above the mid 50%. I should have listed it in my original post as target/possible and not likely/match but I am hopeful that she will get accepted to UT Austin, if not as an auto admit then as a review candidate. She should qualify for a few other Texas public universities auto admit for safeties. Taking into account all the helpful advice on this thread, we have removed the UC schools and have tightened up the list ahead of our college counseling meeting early next year. She knows her standardized test scores are weak and she needs to prep harder for them. One of the schools on her list has said that they place more emphasis on the strength of the curriculum/transcript over test scores (with test optional still in place, only the highest scorers are submitting, making their numbers very high). Thanks for your advice.
But be aware of the “level of applicant’s interest” emphasis, particularly at American, which has a reputation of rejecting or waitlisting applicants who appear (to them) to be using it as a “safety” behind GU and GWU.
We will not be applying to American or GWU, but appreciate the suggestion from @bouders . Thank you.
A GWU admission officer told me the same about their school.
A few comments:
Southeast Asian Female = Over Represented, not under represented
School may “not rank” but a “Highly Ranked private school” tends to have multiple applicants to highly ranked colleges like those your daughter is interested in so the schools will have a pretty clear handle on where your daughter ranks compared to her classmates.
1410 SAT makes her a very long shot at Columbia ED. Have you considered Barnard?
Maybe… depends on the college (although well known research universities are more likely to see the OP as overrepresented).
Also, it depends on whether the college is looking at “Asian” overall (more likely to be overrepresented) or at specific ethnic origins (certain ones like Hmong and Burmese are more likely to be underrepresented).
Of the schools that OP mentioned, her daughter definitely falls in the ORM category at Columbia, NYU, Northwestern and Georgetown. Not familiar with the others.
Best of luck to your daughter!
The best “bang for buck” of invested time between now and applying to schools would be practice tests, tutoring or a prep-class to get her SAT up. Just by doing practice tests at home and getting some coaching on how the SAT works, my son raised his score by 50 points. The ACT is a very different test, and she might do well there, but based on published data I have seen from schools like NU she needs higher standardized test scores to be competitive.
That said, I echo others who say that her guidance counselor should have a better idea of her chances at these schools than the CC barflies. How have applicants from her high school faired at these schools in the past?
Yes, it has been added to our list. Thanks.
Typically, several kids from the school matriculate to the ivies each year.
Are her parents college educated? Was she born in the US?
It sounds like this list of schools is looking at where she wants to live (ie. big city) and not what she wants to study.
If she can get her test scores up, USC (a private school in the heart of LA) has some very competitive merit scholarships. Vanderbilt also has some competitive merit scholarships but look at the descriptions of the scholarships. They aren’t for kids who are just smart. They are for kids who are smart and civic minded, smart and leaders, etc. I see a lot of writing focused activities but you didn’t mention if she is more than a participant in any of her EC.
This is why her GC will be so important- s/he will know how your daughter’s application will stack up relative to her cohort. The school may not officially rank, but there are several pieces of info that let colleges know where a student falls relative to their peers.
Also, this may seem a very small point, but it is part of a mental shift that matters for both parents and students: you are correct when you say “we will not be applying to…”- b/c WE won’t be applying anywhere. Your daughter is the one who will be applying and attending university. Of course there is help and support and encouragement along the way! But it is important to see it as her process.
Are her parents college educated? Was she born in the US?
OP said:
and:
Thanks, I missed that. 
Yes, it is her process and we are here to provide support and encouragement. We will all be meeting with the GC in January. The school list is a not set in stone and research is ongoing. What she wants to study and the type of environment she wants to be in (ie, close to or in a city) is equally important for her.
She does hold leadership positions (senior editor) and is more than just a participant for the school paper and is one of just a handful of students selected to represent her school for diversity and inclusion with local and national DEIJ conferences. She has placed at State for JCL and districts for debate.
What is your daughter’s class rank ?
My initial reaction was that your daughter’s SAT score of 1410 was too low for Columbia and Northwestern. May help to point out her high EBW score and her desire to major in a writing discipline.
Northwestern University is a very high reach if applying RD, and is a high reach if applying ED. Same for Columbia.
More reasonable chance of receiving an offer of admission to NYU ED and to Virginia EA.
Georgetown is also a reach.
I agree that applying to UCLA & to Berkeley is probably not the best use of your daughter’s time.
As noted above, you need at least two additional target schools which are more likely to extend an offer of admissions. Missouri & Michigan ? Emory University in Atlanta ?
The top schools (such as the Ivy’s) will offer financial aid to meet need. However, “merit” scholarships don’t apply when every single applicant is equally meritorious, and there is only a spot for <10% of those equally exceptional candidates.
On the other hand, very, very good schools who seek to further raise their stats, or seek to show a more inclusive student body, will likely compete with scholarships for top students.
Many solid public universities have “Honors” programs they use to recruit top students. Benefits of these programs include first choice of classes (a real plus in programs where students have to stay another semester because they couldn’t get a major pre-req class in sequence), access to undergraduate research opportunities, and substantial tuition grants. We know a couple people who went to Ohio State because they received a large financial package when accepted into their Honors program. Of the schools to which our son applied, Purdue, MSU and Pitt all had Honors programs. Some of these programs require a separate application, including additional essays (Purdue and Pitt). Some are invitation only, like MSU.