None of those schools are reaches for you. Apply to real reaches (Whaton, Stanford, Ivies). I heard some where that top schools LOVE home schooled kids. Stanford accepted like 25% of it’s home schooled applicants
One of my D’s classmates at her homeschool study center got almost a full ride at Stanford to study the classics. He has studied in Rome for a semester and is loving his time at Stanford.
Boarding school for a year? Some boarding schools even have 5th year programs (not suggesting that). Some may be close enough to come home weekends.
Absolutely no reason to travel 5 hours, that sounds crazy.
I agree that if money is not an issue that you need a consultant. One that is familiar with your school and with home schooling. A 3.7 is one of those GPAs that at one school it is not great and at another it could be the same as 4 someplace else. Did you look on your school’s Naviance? You can see where people with similar scores got in. Is the guidance department good at the school?
Also I would get teacher recommendations now, before you make a final decision about returning.
A 194 is an excellent score. Those scores go up a lot because everyone studies. I do not remember my PSAT but maybe it was a 180 something and I ended up never taking the SATs and got a 34 ACT.
I honestly do not understand how you can be at an expensive private school and no one told you to study for the ACTs? Did the guidance department explain your options? At expensive private schools is usually where everyone has an ACT and SAT tutor
My parents won’t let me go to boarding school, sadly. There are many boarding schools close to me that also have day options, but none of them accept applications for senior year 
. The 5th year program thing was something my mom had mentioned to me (her brother did a 5th year at Exeter because he wasn’t ready for college). I’m not sure that I need it, but I could always consider it if things don’t work out as far as college admissions are concerned.
It’s a tiny school that is not established at all. A 3.7 at my school is pretty good, I think I probably have the third or fourth highest GPA at the school (out of 20 students, though, lol). Out of 12 seniors this year, two are going to Yale (twins, children of faculty and double legacy, kind of a given), one is going to WUSTL, one is going to Goucher, one to UCSB, University of Toronto, Brandeis, and three to UConn (one of them in the honors college). Those are the ones that I know of. My GPA and standardized test scores are better than most of theirs, but many of them took a WAY more rigorous course load than I did (I am in 7 classes, 2 of them are honors and 1 of them is AP, but some classes don’t have an honors option), so I can’t really compare myself to them. My school also doesn’t rank kids and due to the size of my school, I doubt most colleges would know if a 3.7 is good or not at my school (as they probably haven’t had more than one or two applicants from there before).
The guidance counselor recommended I take the ACT about a week before the testing date (which is when I approached her about what I should do as far as testing was concerned, so it wasn’t like she screwed up or anything) in April so I didn’t have time to study. I knew basically nothing about the ACT, I had only heard of the name. She has recommended that I study for the next one and my mom got me the red ACT book, which I will start studying from soon 
. I am planning on taking the ACT in October, so I have plenty of time.
@zorloth, Try posting on the [CT Homeschoolers Inclusive](Yahoo | Mail, Weather, Search, Politics, News, Finance, Sports & Videos) email group. They can tell you the state regulations and give you suggestions for what to do next.
wrt post#15: yes, one semester-long college class is equivalent to a full year of high school AP, EXCEPT for Calculus BC and Physics C which cover 1 year of college classes’ content over one HS year.
I would recommend taking a look at Muhlenberg. If it seems interesting make sure you do the official tour and then interview. I think that would provide you with a chance to tell your story. Not the “pain in the ass” version but the taking too much of your time that you could be doing other things you are passionate version. This would free you to do your essay on a topic you feel strongly about versus having to explain the process. They value getting to know their future students and might be intrigued by what you would be bringing to their campus community. Best of luck to you!
I think you really need to “like” your safety schools. I wouldn’t put any school on your list that you wouldn’t be okay with going to.