colleges for average optimistic student?

Only on College Confidential is a 3.5 a low average! As someone mentioned, your PSAT is not indicative of your SAT score and if you’re worried about that aspect, look at the hundreds of schools that are SAT and ACT optional. You are so wide open in your requirements that thousands of schools would work for you based on your GPA and interests. Try to narrow it down a bit if you can - what kind of extra curriculas do you enjoy? Are you interested in a strong sports program, Greek life, service orientation, theatre/creative arts? You mention a religious school as a possibility - does that mean you would be uncomfortable in a very liberal school?

Try looking at some of the big catalog type books and see if there’s any that strike your fancy, then peruse their websites. Once you’ve narrowed those down, look for similar schools. There are thousands of colleges in the US, you’ve got to narrow down your “wants” a bit before you can start a list and that takes a few weeks of personal research, then come back and ask for suggestions based on your new thoughts.

Good luck!