You obviously prefer the pre-professional route into either business or journalism. There’s nothing wrong with applying to a handful of these schools, but I think you’re making a mistake by not considering schools for a BA. You are undecided between business, journalism, and creative writing (and who knows what else in a couple years time). It’s tough to get a better sense of which career direction you really want to take when you entrench yourself in either a business or journalism track. That’s the beauty of the BA: economics would give you a pretty good sense of whether you want a career in business, and English takes care of the journalism/creative writing possibilities. Maybe dabble in another language. Travel. Give yourself a chance to be young and uncertain!
It looks like you’ll be able to cover your EFC, but in your position (career undecided), it makes sense to save as much as possible, get a solid undergrad foundation in the subjects that will benefit you most in the future, then spend the savings on grad school once you have a better idea of which direction to head.
For safeties: UIUC, U Alabama, U Missouri. I’m not sure why you’re dumping on UIUC. For an inexpensive BA, you could do far far worse. Alabama, too, with full tuition is a fantastic option for you to save the dough, get a solid broad-based education, then launch yourself into a grad program of choice, after you’ve had 4 years to think about it. Missouri journalism is a sensible application. You’re in the running for a $10K award there.
For matches, look at Boston College, Boston U, U Richmond, Pitt. BC has one of the top business programs. They super-score the ACT, too, which I believe amounts to a 35 for you. If you can settle for a ~30% non-Catholic population, it’s a quality education in whichever direction you want to go, B-school or BA. I think they have an EA plan, too. At Boston U, you have a decent shot for merit. U Richmond is smaller, but it’s a good option for you: they’re wealthy, merit aid, D1 sports, good business program or econ. Pitt would provide a solid BA and might be worth a shot for OOS merit, if you’re top 5% class rank. I believe they super-score, too, but I’m not sure if that applies for merit evaluation.
For reaches, look at Northwestern, U Chicago, Claremont McKenna, Wesleyan U, USC. NU for either journalism or BA. U Chicago is outstanding for economics, English, history, languages, and has an Early Action plan. CMC is smaller but they belong to the Claremont consortium where the schools are adjoined, so it has a larger feel; it’s very good for economics. Wesleyan is also larger for a liberal arts college, in a small city, with a run to NYC; excellent in a variety of subjects. USC for business, journalism, or a BA. Chicago, CMC, and Wesleyan all super-score the ACT, as far as I know. And bonus, you might be able to continue with track/cross country at these D3 schools.
IMO, you’re better off giving yourself more options by applying to a few B-schools, a few J-schools, then filling in the rest with a BA in mind. See where the chips fall next April, assess your career goals at that time, look at net cost. After another year of HS, you might end up more uncertain than ever, and you’ll be happy to have a few BA choices in the bag.