“Wouldn’t an affordable safety that she likes be the first college to look for to put on the application list?”
I agree that affordable safety and match schools might be more important, and possibly more difficult, than finding appropriate reach and low reach schools. For an academically very strong student, finding reaches might be relatively easier if only because they are more likely to be famous schools.
Definitely run the NPC on her reach schools, or perhaps on all schools that you consider.
I would think that for an academically very strong student from New England, the obvious matches and safeties would be her in-state public flagship, McGill, and perhaps U.Mass, UVM, and UNH.
If she wants a small school then of course there would be a different list altogether.