<p>What is a little worrisome is that many of these risky "safety" suggestions are being proposed by the OP's guidance counselor. It is also the guidance counselor who needs to do some additional homework...</p>
<p>Carnegie Mellon is a huge reach (unless those SATS come way up). So is Occidental. Vassar, huge reach. Skidmore, reach. With solid SATs, you would look pretty good. Your science grades are mediocre, but that could be overlooked. However, hoping for an amazing increase in the SAT is usually unrealistic. I've also heard that a huge improvement can trigger suspicions of cheating. That said, most plarts of the US have less competitive liberal arts colleges sprinkled here and there. You should have no trouble finding one. You can pretty much pick a location and find some. You probably want to avoid ones that attract mostly local students and commuters. If you are a girl, a lot of the smaller schools WILL have a gender balance problem. That is just a fact. Some to look at not previously mentioned- Massachusetts: Emmanual, Simmons, Regis. Pennsylvania- Muhlenburg, Cabrini. Maryland: Villa Julie, Goucher (higher end). New York: Siena, Russell Sage, Ithaca(higher end). Rhode Island College. Vermont: Bennington. Illinois: Augustana, Knox. Ohio: Ohio Wesleyan (high end).</p>