Yep, good luck. I think our kid is leaning UW. She has several HS friends for whom it is their top school but no one in her circle is thinking Reed. Arriving at UW with a cadre of friends she already knows would be a plus I think. So there’s that. She also wants to do marching band.
We will try to support her either way. But as parents we do have a lot of subtle influence to push them one way or the other. Especially with this child who is eager to please. The oldest knew exactly what she wanted (or thought she did) and listened to very little of what we told her. This one will likely take our advice, or at least take it very seriously.