<p>I would suggest the OP investigate the possibility of enrolling his D in a top boarding school. It might be a good idea to apply to BOTH top colleges and top boarding schools.</p>
<p>The top boarding schools give generous financial aid these days. If she really is “all that,” letters of rec from boarding school faculty saying so will definitely help her get into top colleges. Your D would have the experience of living away from home and the odds are that she would be more challenged academically as well. She’d get some socialization which would help her mature. She’d get less supervision in college than in boarding school.</p>
<p>She can apply to both boarding schools and colleges and wait to see the results before making a decision. If she got into a top school like Caltech or some of the others mentioned on this thread and by the time next May rolls around you think she’s mature enough to handle it, then let her go to college.</p>
<p>However, if it’s a choice between a top boarding school and directional state u, then the right choice might be a year or two in boarding school and another chance of getting into a top college. And, of course, you’ll have this year to figure out if she might just need that extra year in “high school” for social reasons.</p>