Please help; I don't know where I stand and can't decide on target schools

Congratulations on your hard work and success! Yes, there are a couple of thousand universities with campuses in the US. It would be helpful to those recommending to have some idea of your general preferences.

Would you prefer a small liberal arts college (LAC), which usually have 1800-3000 students? Would you prefer a mid-size university, say 5000-15,000 students? Would you prefer a large state university (over 15,000 students)? (My cutoffs are pretty random.)

Would you prefer to be in a large city (NYC, LA, SF, Chicago, Atlanta) or a smaller city (Cincinnati, Winston-Salem, Portland)? Or, would you prefer to be in a college town like Ann Arbor (University of Michigan), Chapel Hill (UNC), Madison (University of Wisconsin)? These often have maybe 100,000 residents, give or take, and the town is geared toward the school. Or, would you prefer a small LAC in a small town. Many great LACs, like Hamilton, Amherst, etc. are in very small towns and student life, as a result, is very campus focused.

Are smaller classes and routinely close interaction with professors especially important to you? LACs often have a professor:student ratio of 8 to 12 to 1. Larger state university have larger classes and have ratios of 14 to 20 to 1.

How important is weather? The Northeast (New England) probably has the highest density of outstanding schools that provide generous aid. It and the Upper Midwest have very cold, snowy weather. Of course, that’s fine with many students, but not everyone.

Is diversity a critical factor for you? Schools in CA and the West Coast and generally, not always, state schools in diverse states and those in urban locations tend to have more diverse communities. You will find diversity most places now, but the extent does vary quite a bit.

Is Greek life (fraternities and sororities) a plus, minus, or neutral for you? It can be an important part of the social life at a school but some schools have no Greek life at all. It can have a significant impact on social life.

Would you consider an all women’s school? A few are recommended above (Smith, Mount Holyoke) (both terrific, in different ways). I know a female student from a different country in Asia who had an incredible experience at Wellesley, also a women’s school with an especially beautiful campus. Would you be interested in that? I’ll add it does not necessarily mean never being around male students. Smith and Mount Holyoke are part of a five-school consortium (with Amherst, Hampshire, and University of Massachusetts at Amherst) where students share classes and resources. The student at Wellesley socialized at Harvard and MIT and took classes at the former.

I think if you answer these questions here you can get some more helpful responses. Good luck!