No matter how strong a student your daughter is, you need target and safety schools. Visiting a bunch of reach schools seems counterproductive this early in the game and puts the wrong focus on the application strategy.
If you end up living overseas, will you visit the U.S. during the summer? Campus tours during the summer (or over Thanksgiving holiday for that matter) may not be ideal but they’re a fact of life for most expat families. My son did all his college tours and interviews during his summer holidays, and it worked out fine for him.
Also, if the time available for visits is short, I would suggest limiting the number of super-selectives. Big name schools like Harvard, Yale, MIT don’t really care if you visit or not and most likely your daughter will like what she sees. It might be better to visit schools that you don’t know much about, especially those that are potential matches and safeties. Or that offer varying environments e.g., rural/urban/suburban, large/medium/small, all women’s/coed etc.
LOL, maybe you should wait to visit Choate with them after they’re done with high school, if you don’t want them to lobby to go there! (I went there too, and my kids still have never been to Wallingford.) Back in my day, STEM-focused kids were an oddball minority at CRH (but oh how the STEM teachers loved us!) - I get the sense that this has evened out a lot since then.
Not relevant to your East Coast visits, but your D might like Harvey Mudd. That would give her an unusual mix of a tippy-top STEM-leaning school (with a phenomenal math department) within a liberal arts consortium. Students can participate in either the Joint Music Program ensembles (Mudd/Scripps/Pitzer/CMC) or the Pomona ensembles, which are generally a bit higher level. Private harp instruction is available through Pomona. Even though Mudd is an undergrad-only institution, the math department has very high level offerings; and in the event that she needed even more grad-level courses, there are additional course offerings available through Claremont Graduate University.
I would love to include target and safeties asap, too! Personally I did not benefit from not doing that (double negative, yes).
The Choate situation is somewhat out of the bag at this point, because my ds currently is being scouted as 8th grader - but honestly of the two, said dd of this thread is my Choatie…
I guess Summers and short stints will have to do re: tours as an ex-pat, though isn’t the entire point to be in EU in the Summers? Oh well. Honestly if we actually move to EU, then THAT will be the point.
I guess I’m looking for a few things:
That OH WOW I could see myself here college. That isn’t Choate next Fall. 
And then targets and safeties where this harp thing could make a legit difference. (Given following up with research who needs a harpist, who doesn’t, etc.)
Looping back around to this last minute, Thanksgiving plus, East Coast trip.
Hello—
I’m a fellow parent of a harpist here who also has strong academic stats and interest in science. I appreciate your situation. It is a lot to navigate between two seemingly different worlds. (STEM/ Music). Hang in there!!
Does your daughter have a preference for what part of the country she would like to study or the size of the school? Since she will be in Europe for 11th and 12th grades, has she considered studying overseas at the collegiate level? And what are the financial considerations (if any)?
Some schools will accept only live auditions so keep that in mind as you plan.
I would agree with St Olaf. They have a new harp professor who has studied in France and may be a good fit. I also agree 110% with having a practice lesson anywhere you are seriously considering if at all possible.
We also visited Case Western/ CIM joint program. Non-music majors at Case take their music classes (theory and lessons) at CIM — which is a great opportunity but can also be more stress and pressure for a non-major, as I got the sense it was very rigorous. CIM is definitely more Salzedo method…but it’s Cleveland!! Right next door to the renowned Cleveland orchestra. Wow.
Somewhere that hasn’t been mentioned is University of North Texas. I don’t know a lot about them, but I believe their harp program is well respected.
I would suggest looking beyond the size of the harp program, however, and look at the opportunities in the school of music as a whole and the rapport with the harp faculty. As mentioned earlier, it can often be harder for a non-major harpist to really shine in a large program with pre-professional music students. — A small harp program can actually be a positive in your daughter’s situation.
If you both have not yet read the stickie in the music forum titled “the Double Degree Dilemma” I would encourage you to do that. Very helpful…
My daughter looked at conservatories, LACs, and public and private universities. (Whew!!). Ultimately, what won out was a flagship state university with a separate school of music and a budding harp program. She found the academic opportunities she was looking for, and an instructor who fosters her growth as a harpist but also supports her in other non-musical endeavors. (This is HUGE). She’s had a lot of performance opportunities with the smaller sized program and is also pursuing pre- med studies. Feel free to PM me for more details if you like.
Best wishes to you—it’s a wild ride! ?