" I am not asking the top 50 school’s leniency for prestige, I want a good research/pre-med/science school."
If that is truly what you care about, then you shouldn’t be thinking much about reaches. The honors colleges at many public (many of whom are STEM research powerhouses) can provide as good an experience in that area as the reachy colleges.
Take a look: goldwater-scholars-2017-alabama-iowa-state-lead-publics-but-regional-publics-do-well