Do you know anything about Stony Brook? That may be our dark horse for financial reasons. Just wondering.
To the best of your ability please try to get your D past the idea of “perfect” school or fit. Yes it does happen sometimes but usually there is at least one thing, that if she fixates on it, can be a reason we’re reading a “D wants to transfer, college not what she thought” thread next year. 
Every kid is different and needs different things to make them happy - try to remind your D what situations make her happiest. Can she ignore social stuff and just focus on academics or does she need a heavily planned social life in order to feel involved?
When I got married a very smart person told me that something (or several things) would go wrong - accept that up front and they didn’t have the power to ruin the day. Several things did go wrong but didn’t ruin the experience. I think college is like that. Students need to understand something will go wrong for most people - whether they get the worst dorm, worst first year professor, weather makes them miss a flight home for the holidays, the major of your dreams turns out to bore you silly, etc. Realize it’s just a blip and not a whole experience. I firmly believe that while there are better fit schools, students can have great experiences wherever they end up…and this is someone with one D who went to first choice dream school and the one who ended up at a school where she applied only to make parents happy but ended up picking! Both had/are having a great time and getting great education.
@Travhan I have a son who is a senior at Belmont. PM me and I will answer any questions. We are from PA and he has thoroughly enjoyed Belmont and will likely stay in Nashville when he finishes. He was a B+/A- student too, and did get a small merit scholarship. He has pretty much gotten straight Bs there too, though a little better in his major. I think it is a good value college and you will LOVE the campus and the neighborhood it is in.
Fip the coin. At the end, what student do at college will be deciding factor for the future, not the name of the college.
If you do not want to flip the coin, assign the points to your criteria and add them up for each school. The one with the most points will be a good choice. There are other ways to decide. However, if kid is going to a place that she determines will fit her, she should be OK. The rest will be up to HER, not the place.
The huge factor is also how much love each school shows. How much love is equal to how much each school awarded in Merit scholarship money. That was a decision breaker for my D. in both cases - private HS and college. In both cases. Merit awards pointed to absolutely right place for her.
My daughter’s English teacher told her that Loyola MD was nothing but a party school. The teacher went there for a year then transferred out because of it. The exact quote was, "The partying starts on Wednesday and ends on Tuesday. I have never been there and know nothing about the school but thought I’d pass it on so you can check it out since you said you don’t want a party school.
Personally, I think it’s a plus that she doesn’t have her heart set on one school. It means she’s flexible and open to all of them. If it were me, I’d try to steer her to one that was within a few hours drive from home or very easy to get to from the airport. Also, one that has a nice town that will keep her interested if she gets lonely. My niece totally loved Roger Williams.
@Travhan why not look in at the Parents of the Class of 2015 thread, lots of us there struggling with college choices.
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/class-20xx-community/1086324-parents-of-the-hs-class-of-2015-p1599.html
About Stony Brook, it’s a good value financially especially if you’re instate but when we visited we met a number of out of state families touring as well as accepted students from NJ, CT, PA. Last year I spoke with a woman who lives 40 minutes away from the school. Her daughter spent her 1st year at Loyola MD and didn’t like it. She transferred to SB, is living on campus and likes it much better, comes home maybe just once or twice a month and enjoys on-campus weekend activities. Here’s more:
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/discussion/comment/17453124/#Comment_17453124
There’s no perfect school.
The best fit in the world for your freshman might not be such a great fit for your senior, and vice versa. She may grow out of or into any school you select.
Look, it’s a risk. Go in with the mindset that you are looking for a “good enough” school. It has lots of majors that interest her (2/3-3/4 of kids change majors). It is affordable. She can see herself there. Remind her and yourself that it’s only 4 years of her life, a tiny fraction of the number of years she’ll be alive. It’s ok if the experience isn’t perfect as long as it’s mostly good.
I live about 45 minutes from Stony Brook. I’ve driven by the campus, but know very little about it. It is about 90 minuts or so from Manhattan. I’ve spoken to a few of our seniors who LOVE it and are planning to attend in September.
http://www.finaid.org/calculators/awardletteradvanced.phtml
When the aid packages start rolling in, your family might like this calculator.
My D2 went to Loyola MD and had a marvelous experience. She was a hard working B+ student in high school and made Dean’s List at Loyola every semester except one. Her high school years were filled with band, newspaper, CYO, and SADD. We were concerned about her finding a school where a non-drinker would be accepted. She had also broken up with a long time boyfriend just before making her college decision and was overwhelmed by the decision process. She ended up choosing Loyola because she liked the font on their printed materials. (This could basically be equated with throwing a dart at a board.)
The beginning of her first semester did not start well. She felt that she did not fit in and she was having roommate problems. She called me one night in tears saying, “no one appreciates my talents.” I told her she could transfer to a college near home at the end of the semester but that she would have to fill out the necessary applications. (I knew that was the last thing she’d want to do and hoped the added time would help her adjust. ) Well, she ended up going to a group counseling session on campus and found out that she (like many others there) was “simply” homesick. She came home for Thanksgiving and when she returned to campus things turned completely around.
She started to join groups, including being a leader of the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention Task Force. She wrote for the school paper. She later became a writing tutor. She went on tons of alcohol free outings/adventures. She learned to navigate Baltimore on public transportation. She made amazing friends. And, she was even named RA of the year in her senior year.
Bottom Line: Your daughter will find her place. The beginning may be rocky (so expect it!), but eventually she will come into her own and it’ll be amazing and glorious to watch!