<p>I cannot help with overcoming nerdiness since it is a quality I strive for. I also do not believe it is a factor that should be considered at all when determining whether to apply to MIT or Caltech, the premier engineering and science colleges in the nation. Her stats might indicate a low chance but they don’t indicate no chance and thus the issue is simply one of whether you can pay the application cost to find out. </p>
<p>As to other colleges, her list is one of schools all having fairly low admission rates and very high tuition cost. What she needs to avoid is the risk of getting no admissions (low risk but possible when choosing only colleges with low admission rates) and, just as bad, getting admitted to a few and learning the financial aid provided is far short of what is needed or is so larded with loans rather than grants that it would be unwise to accept it. She really needs to also apply to some places that have high (above 50%) admission rates where she has a very good chance of admission and cost won’t necessarily break the bank – UIUC would be one (has she ever been there, a visit can sometimes help), and it is ranked by USNews number 5 for engineering, but even it does not amount to a sure admission. </p>
<p>UChicago is another that has both low admission rate and high tuition. Also, though it has computer science, it does not have any engineering. The high cost, high ranked, lower admission rate alternative locally for UChicago would be Northwestern which does have engineering. Wisconsin is also very good with a high admission rate but you have to pay OOS tuition. Michigan is no shoo in for any OOS applicant and it has very high OOS tuition. Purdue, another high ranked engineering college, could be worth a look becausae despite OOS tution it is more generous than others with partial scholarships for OOS. Another possible that is nearby is Rose-Hulman, a private engineering college that USNews ranks no.1 in engineering among colleges that do not have grad programs. Her stats give her a good chance for scholarship money there.</p>