<p>Just reminding everybody that Georgia Tech -- one of the top engineering schools in the country -- is a public university and may very well be one of her local public universities. A school's being public doesn't mean that it's easy to enter or is for low performing students. Some of the best universities in this country are public. </p>
<p>The schools that the OP would be best suited for now based on her high school achievements are: public and private universities that are second tier (which probably would be reach schools for her even if she gets strong grades senior year) or below. She also could consider community colleges. If she does well in college, she could try to transfer to a more competitive college.</p>