I think at Mt Holyoke she’d get enough merit to get close to 40k. My younger daughter a HS junior has similar challenges and let me just say congrats on all of your Ds accomplishments. I know to pull that off was hard as heck. I know of several students with SAT and grades in that arena who got the 25K award and I believe your D would be a contender for the full tuition award. Plus they have the most women in STEM PHD programs of any LAC.
Lawrence in Wisconsin comes in at $35k with your daughter’s stats, but their merit is not guaranteed. When my kid was looking at coed schools, her long list included Lawrence (and Willamette, and University of Puget Sound). Great walkable / bikeable town. My kid went into the open house lunch a prospective psych major and walked out a prospective physics major, because the physics prof she sat with was that engaging. Gorgeous campus. It’s on a quarter system, so you only take three classes at a time, which works for some people and doesn’t work for others. They have a (gloomy basement) pool, but they also have free student memberships to the YMCA a few blocks away, and the Y has a pool, too, I believe. Maybe not enough opportunities for outdoor winter sports (they have an awesome YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/UHJOAv49wBc should tell you what goes on in winter).
Lawrence University. With a 1500SAT, 3.5, the NPC comes up with at $36k net price. Really strong Physics program.
Awesome suggestions. Her accomplishments sometimes seem to add up to being a whiz at standardized tests and doing the minimum to get target grades. Adding Lawrence and Mt. Holyoke to list to.look at.
@VickiSoCal, imo Cambridge is not a good idea for somebody who struggles to get their work done, who is so unsure of the direction she wants to go, and who wants a lot of serious outdoor activity. Would she look at Scotland? (I know you have experience there 
)
It is genuinely hard to overstate how intense Oxbridge is, and the level of independent work required.
Also, I would bet dollars to doughnuts that even if she gets the 3 5s this year and she did well enough on the aptitude test and in the interview to get an offer, that offer would be conditional on her Bio and Calc BC exams senior year.
Finally, @Twoin18 (a Cambridge alum) was recently told by a contact at Cambridge that they are reluctant to take US students b/c so many end up choosing a US school.
To @collegemom3717’s point, I think an easily distracted but profoundly gifted ADHD kid could probably thrive doing math at Cambridge (with 12 hours of lectures per week). In retrospect a very high percentage of my classmates were on the spectrum. I wouldn’t say the same about NatSci with 30 hours of lectures and labs per week (supervisions are on top of that).
And yes it was the admissions tutor who said they weren’t keen to have more US applicants (unless they had British parents because those kids usually accepted their offers).
She spent last spring break in Scotland in her sister’s dorm and has no desire to ever go back. Too small, too pretentious, too everything. But she went to the lectures and as a high school sophomore had no trouble following first year chemistry and maths.
I do not think she will go to the UK but she would sure like to get In. I guess a personal statement that says “I just want to one up my sister” is not a good idea.
lol
What about Durham or Exeter for NatSci? She has 5 spaces.
Whoops, Northampton (Smith) is also one of my favorite towns. School is terrific and lots of outdoors opportunities.
@collegemom3717 she is applying to Durham and we have visited. In original list. Need to look at Exeter.
Clarkson, maybe? It’s STEMmy and outdoorsy (the cold kind of outdoorsy), and I would think she’d get merit… and it’s small enough to be pretty flexible as far as exploring majors, I believe. Not familiar with the LGBTQ climate but I can’t imagine a secular school in that region being unwelcoming.
I agree that Utah would be worth a closer look. https://www.deseretnews.com/article/865561017/University-of-Utah-named-as-top-25-LGBT-friendly-school.html
Maybe Beloit, in addition to Lawrence?
Colorado State and the University of Arkansas are good for outdoor activities and both offer a lot of good degree options. A non obvious choice would be GW. The SEAS school is flexible about changing majors. She might consider Trinity University in San Antonio.
University of Arizona has the SALT program for kids who need support.
@VickiSoCal, focusing on your D’s career goals and options for a major, I think a Civil Engineering degree might suit her for the best chance at outdoor work/travel versus a CS or Math degree. One of my friend’s H is a CE and he predominantly works outdoors and travels for different projects the company lines up. See the wiki link for all the possibilities, such as: coastal, environmental, water resources, structural, surveying, etc.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_engineering
Then, find a school that matches her stats, educational needs, interests and your finances. As @ucbalumnus mentioned, it might be easier to start off in that tract then convert over to one of the other majors like math, chemistry or physics if she decides it’s not for her.
Also, the S of another friend of mine received a degree from Purdue’s Polytechnic Program (not as rigorous as an engineering program). He works outdoors a lot and travels extensively for a global company overseeing many big construction projects. That area of study could also be an option if what you say in your post below is more in line with your D.
I have pointed her at civil/environmental engineering, and she has toyed with mechanical engineering with mate’s licesnes at Cal Maritime. She has also talked about forestry or land management.
She’s all over the place, it make me dizzy.
@Veryapparent we talked about Holyoke last night. She’s concerned about the writing load.
Forestry or Land Management might be a nice option for her since she would prefer a job where she could work outdoors. There are so many beautiful national and state parks all over the country. I am unfamiliar with the ease of job placement after graduation though.
I have a similar problem with my D21 having trouble deciding on a future major. She’s good at Math and Science but doesn’t want the engineering route. She doesn’t think she could withstand the rigors of an Engineering program. She’s also taking an Accounting class this year and is really enjoying it but then says she doesn’t want to sit in front of a computer screen all day at a job. For now, she’s leaning toward some type of Business degree (Accounting or Actuarial) for better job prospects and will travel and pursue outdoor activities in her free time. Who knows what she’ll end up doing but, half the battle is, she knows what she doesn’t want to pursue as a major.
SUNY ESF? I’ve got a friend whose son was just admitted, but otherwise don’t know much about it. OOS Cost of Attendance is $37k assuming no merit scholarships, and OOS merit of up to $8k is available.
Tons of fun outdoorsy stuff: http://recreationservices.syr.edu/Programs/outdoor-education/index.html
LGBT group: http://lgbt.syr.edu/
Colorado State is a little isolated and far from downhill skiing, the closest downhill skiing in in the Snowy Range of Wyoming, but really close to the Poudre Canyon for cross country skiing if she brings a car. Colorado State does have a solid civil and environmental engineering program,which is a perfect major for her, as it will be project management oriented, and often outdoors, but can also lead to consulting or working for a municipality as well.
Fort Collins has grown to about 150,000 residents, but its a good 70 miles from our airport. There is public limo series to get up to CSU from the airport.
U of Utah is much closer to fantastic skiing than Colorado State and closer to a major airport to fly in and out from California . All the good skiing in Colorado is along Interstate 70 so thats a good three hours from Fort Collins, except for Eldora just west of Boulder,thats not a particular draw for Colorado State students, although its a great ski hill. U of Utah also allows OOS students to obtain residency in one year, by getting a Utah driver;s license and living one summer and working in Utah. They are happy to offer in state tuition to all undergrads for years 2,3 and 4, its a fantastic deal, for a student who does not need to go home the first summer, and really a good OOS deal as well.
U of Wyoming in Laramie, is right across the Colorado border, and offers a lot of merit to every single student, and located eat 7000 feet above sea level, and smaller and more personal than Colorado State. Its about an hour north of Colorado State in Laramie, up Highway 287.
What about U of Denver? Its a private school, much closer to skiing, and offers about $80K merit over four years,
and students can work as resident assistants to earn free room and board after year one. U of Denver offers engineering, as well as sciences, and smaller and more caring than the bigger public schools in Colorado. She may not win enough merit, but might be worth a try and a look. Its in South Denver, with easy light rail access to downtown Denver and the international airport. U of Denver’s largest state to draw from is California, so she may even have classmates she knows there.
Being all over the place is great! It means she’s exploring who she is and what she wants. That’s important at that stage of development (14-18 years old). 14-year-olds care what others think. Then we hopefully learn to care about what we think. Understanding herself (what she likes, how she likes to live, where she wants to live, who makes her a better person) will help her succeed in college, and afterward. Embrace it! And file away the frustrations, and there are legit frustrations, for stories that will be funny in a few years. We’re already laughing about some of our conversations from just a few years ago.
U of Nevada Reno has a beautiful campus, and absolutely wonderful skiing at Tahoe close by. It looks a lot like Fort Collins with mountains on one side, and much closer to California too. The gambling is there, but does not dominate life, the great outdoors is the dominate feature of Reno. Nevada is often overlooked by California parents but the schools are newer and supportive for many areas of study. The price is very very low too, for everyone.
@allyphoe Syracuse University is a private school with good merit and not part of the SUNY system. SUNY Buffalo is now the go to engineering college in the public system, but all of upstate NY will be a shock for a girl from southern California for bitter cold, poverty feel, and hard to fly to as well. The airport is Syracuse is very small. It is beautiful scenery and fall colors, and there is some skiing and lots of winter sports there, and a strong sports tradition in upstate NY. Syracuse has a large medical campus although U of Rochester is the better medical school and engineering college by far. To me, upstate NY and outdoors are not really compatible, but for the very hearty person yes it is wonderful.