University of Southern California is a private school that uses the CSS Profile non-custodial parent form:
http://financialaid.usc.edu/undergraduates/prospective/applying.html
In general, you should include both parents’ income and assets in net price calculator runs for schools that use non-custodial parent information for financial aid. If you need the waiver for the school to be affordable, you should treat the school as a super-reach, since getting the waiver is unlikely.
Princeton and Columbia have sign language clubs. They might appreciate your experience starting one at your school.
Have you considered some top LACs?
These are all outstanding academically, give good aid (check NPC), and are known for being activist liberal echo chambers (if that’s what you want):
Swarthmore
Wesleyan (CT)
Vassar
Grinnell
Oberlin
Reed
I think that some political balance is good: being exposed to and debating opposing viewpoints is a good thing, IMO.
Looks like the OP’s main barrier to many “good financial aid” schools is the non custodial parent requirement. So many such schools are automatically super reach for the OP.
Your ECs sound very Brown-y to me, I got the super liberal vibe there.
I would say Brown too.
UPENN
You may want to ask your counselor if she has known any students with similar non-custodial parent situations that you have who have applied for non-custodial parent waivers, and which colleges granted or did not grant the waivers.
If any specific colleges appear to be more likely to grant the waivers, these may be the ones that have a somewhat better chance of success for you than those with a history of not granting the waivers. On the other hand, colleges with a history of consistently denying the waivers are likely to be a waste of effort and money to apply to if you need the waivers to afford them.