Well…my D picked Mudd partly because she didn’t want to give up literature and art, which she also loves. She has a secondary concentration in Literature there. Mudd is certainly a strong tech school, but they actually want students who have some interests beyond STEM subjects – they think it makes them better scientists. But this is not what the OP asked, just an aside. Carry on. 
Some of these have been mentioned already but if you want competitive but somewhat less preppy, maybe try Vassar, Ithaca College, Brandeis, Dickinson or Muhlenberg, the last two in PA. Vassar does not offer merit-based aid but the rest do although maximum amount varies.
To us, Brown felt somewhat more down to earth than Harvard, Princeton, Columbia. YMMV.
Have fun!
None of the ones on your original list offers a lot of merit aid. Dartmouth is going to feel the most “preppie” in population. Bowdoin may a bit also. Dartmouth and Middlebury are the geographic outliers that will be a long trip to see one school. UVM is close enough to Middlebury - but there really is nothing else near Dartmouth. If your time is limited you may want to focus on the Maine and Massachusetts schools.
The Maine schools all have a really different feel. Bowdoin more traditional, Bates more interdisciplinary and Colby a very small tight community. Tufts and Clark in Mass are both city schools with a more hipster vibe. Clark does give merit. Another smaller school in Boston with strong science is Brandeis - not far from Tufts. Amherst and Williams are pretty similar - although Williams has a bit of that remote college feel of Colby since it is a windy hour drive away from the five college area.
I would consider maybe checking out Wesleyan in Connecticut. Trinity is nearby for a less selective LAC in the city. Conn college is also a slightly less selective LAC with what feels like a very easy-going student population. Skidmore in NY may also be worth a visit for a school that has a beautiful outdoorsy location, strong science and a little less selective.
Professors from these northeastern schools were among the first group to actively design a model computer science curriculum for liberal arts colleges:
Williams
Swarthmore
Hamilton
Amherst
Vassar
Colgate
Allegheny
Bowdoin
Based on the scale of the new PSAT, your daughter’s scores may convert to about 2120 on the old SAT and may project to about 1410 on the new version. Scores in this range keep nearly all college options open and would be above average for all but less than three dozen schools in the country.
how about Clarkson University in Potsdam, NY? Technically not LAC, but it’s a pretty small research university and strong in math and science, outdoorsy and active. Not far from Vermont. Less selective than many on the list and has more merit possibilities.
Gotcha, @intparent. And the presence of the rest of the Claremont colleges right there is a huge asset for Mudders. My daughter’s experience has been greatly enriched by the fact that she can take classes at Wellesley, which is only 3 miles down the road from Olin. She’s actually doing two there in this, her final semester.
If you are willing to consider schools in the South, Sewanee is a LAC (similar in feel to some on your list) that has strong sciences and is very outdoorsy. It is situated on 13,000 acres in the Cumberland Plateau in TN. Lots of hiking and biking trails, lake, mountain climbing, etc. and it gives merit aid.
Is there a reason Hampshire College was left off list, if visiting Amherst, smith, MTH?
If you want to look at a broader scope of schools, I would think adding something different (MIT or UMass or College of the Atlantic for example) would tell you more than adding another LAC. It will be hard (I’m assuming) to get back out east for another college trip, especially if you still may look South or a West.
I do think it is easy to do BBC quickly; even though my spouse (who graduated from one of these) thinks almost any kid who fits at 1 would fit at all. My other thought would be to add Philadelphia–Swarthmore, Haverford, Muhlenberg, Ursinus, lots of convenient options.
Going counter to some replies on this thread, I don’t think any college should be visited because it is convenient to another. The colleges that appear promising on substantive bases should be the ones that are given priority.
Not on your list, but Wesleyan has great science, as has been said, and my D who came from a mostly lower-middle class public school in Jersey did not feel out of place at all. She had friends from all over the country there, including rural Wisconsin. She also did a ton of outdoorsy things while there, including spring breaks hiking on the Appalachian Trail and camping on the beach in Maine.
OP, do you have a copy of the Diske a Guide to Colleges? Great way to get a couple page synopsis that captures the essence of a lot of colleges.
@406for3 said
We sure have been a big help in narrowing things down! 
I think it’s worth trying to really come to grips with how serious you are about merit money before investing in a big trip. If you’re waffling on that a bit, I can definitely relate. It’s easy (and not necessarily wrong) to tell yourself “Well, merit aid would be great, but if she really has her heart set on X College, we’ll find a way to make it work.” And the NESCAC schools (and others of their ilk) are very compelling places to visit, with their big endowments, gleaming facilities and top notch academics. Odds are good that your D is going to mighty impressed with one or more of them if she visits them.
I had an interesting chat with another CC parent who’s a Carleton alum, lives near the school and has a kid for whom it would have been a great fit. They took it off the table from the outset and focused their search exclusively on schools where they could get substantial merit money (one of which said kid now very happily attends). There’s nothing wrong with telling your D that, paradoxically, you make a little too much money to afford these super-selective schools, because they’d cost you a quarter of a million dollars for her to attend. And there are a lot of terrific schools out there that DO offer merit money while still offering an outstanding educational experience. They won’t be crawling with kids who got 2100+ on their SATs, and most of them have less money to spend on breathtaking facilities, but in all other respects they offer a very competitive educational proposition.
Anyway, I’m not arguing for the latter approach over the former, merely encouraging you to ponder it seriously before booking any flights.
@bookworm I can totally understand why Hampshire College is not on this list. It has a very different personality than all the other schools listed. Unless the student loves the idea of an open curriculum…this would be a poor choice.
I also agree about going to visit places of higher interest, and not just close geography.
The reality is…the OP could probably see all the schools on the original list in an 8 day trip…but it would be a tiring 8 days.
Also, if the family really is trying to target merit aid schools…this list misses the mark.
If this is a look-see/let’s take a vacation trip to get a sense of fit and feel and one or two might make the application list I think the list is fine. Sometimes kids just need to go-see another region just to get the concept entrenched that it’s right or wrong and the trip is for nothing more than that. My oldest a decade ago, had "California’ in his mind and we drove out, saw a bunch of colleges, he talked to one or two admissions officers and ultimately he decided that was not for him. The trip was great fun and a great bonding opportunity and it did help him put the final list together with more focus and even helped jump start the cost conversation. Some people start with regional boundaries, some people start with financial boundaries and some people start with everything goes and then start whittling down on other factors like finances, test scores, etc. after junior year. There are thousands of colleges and there will be hundreds that would be ‘good’ but may never get visited or considered. There is never just one right college.
I remember sitting in the admissions waiting room at Dartmouth some years back, and everyone was talking about Clark. Clark is, actually, one of the “Colleges that Change Lives.” We thought the majors and curriculum were really interesting and were impressed with the place, and so Clark accompanied Ivies on two of my kids’ lists.
One thing I liked about it, which may feel irrelevant to kids, is its commitment to the community surrounding it. It would be hard to find a better town/gown relationship. The school Clark runs has won awards.
I believe the merit aid is tied to service, but I could be wrong.
Many great schools mentioned. Bennington is very small and artsy, a gorgeous campus in VT, science is often part of interdisciplinary work, and studies are pretty independent in many ways, so great for a mature student.
I still think UVM would be a great choice, and socioeconomically diverse because residents of Vermont go there along with the prep school kids
I am very glad the OP mentioned that merit aid was not a requirement, and that so many of you focused on that particular item instead. It has helped me a lot, since we have recently started looking at LACs for science (more bio) as well, but are looking for merit. This has been very helpful! Great suggestions here.
As lovely as Sewanee is…first things to be mindful of are the dress code requirement…guys wear coat and ties to class everyday. In addition…from their website…With a tradition rich in theology and letters, Sewanee remains today a traditional liberal arts college sitting atop Monteagle Mountain in southeastern Tennessee. Sewanee is the only university in the nation that is owned by the dioceses of the Episcopal Church. Students of all faiths are welcomed at the university, which encourages an open dialog about religion, but Sewanee is proud of its deep religious heritage. It’s not unusual for special events to begin with a simple prayer, and there is a strong religious presence on campus.
@DoDEAMom18 On this forum only Catholic schools are religious.