Re Grinity's note, I have a very driven, motivated HG kid. She is, however, a slower processor with a SPD and dyspraxia dx. She has a 504 for extra time theoretically but that amounts to nothing really. She still has eight classes each semester and, if those classes are all core/hard classes rather than a lot of the softer electives that many other kids are taking, it means nothing in terms of her GPA, makes it hard to have the other things that appeal to colleges (like leading clubs/other extracurriculars), and the only thing she could get out of extra time is to ask to turn stuff in later which would only pile the homework up. She hasn't been using the extra time at all as a result.
It sounds to me like she has a good chance of getting into two of her top college choices (Stetson & UO) even if she doesn't take five AP classes every year and become the student body president. I don't know on others like Duke, but she can apply and see what happens.
It's fine to apply to a few 'lottery schools' just to see what happens, but some kids can plan their entire lives around that and some kids shouldn't. It sounds like you are quite clear of your priorities.
Have you found College Confidential?
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-oregon/1276452-admission-uo.htmlhttp://talk.collegeconfidential.com/stetson-university/?pp=20&daysprune=-1I recently heard a reminder that it's all just people's opinions, but given that grain of salt, I think it's a great resource.
There is also a magic document that all colleges put together nowadays called the 'Common Data Set' that you can find if you hunt -
http://www.stetson.edu/administration/iro/commondataset.phpfor example
http://www.stetson.edu/administration/iro/media/CDS2010_2011.xlsmight help you see where she stands compared to incoming freshman
http://ir.uoregon.edu/cdsspecifically -
http://ir.uoregon.edu/sites/ir/files/CDS2010_2011_For%20WEB.xlshope that helps -
Grinity
