One more vote for "back off." You say she's been out of school for just two weeks? I think she's to be commended for having read part of The Odyssey already (geek_son, reading over my shoulder, said, "Dear God, congratulate the girl!"). Let her have some decompression time.
And reading the newspaper -- huge waste of time in my book. If critical passage reading is the goal, give her a stack of magazines on a favorite topic. If general vocabulary is the goal, let her read murder mysteries or some other novels she finds interesting (Mary Higgins Clark and Dean Koontz use plenty of "tone" words
). If she has to have an essay done by 8/18, give her a nudge on 8/1.
College will become more real to her after she's set foot on some campuses; if she falls for one of them, she will find the motivation to prep for those tests and work on the applications. In the meantime, you can assuage your parental neurosis (which most of us share) by taking on the "executive assistant" role some parents have mentioned here. You might consider making a spreadsheet that lists her ECs -- dates participated, hours per week, positions held, awards received. This will help her fill out her applications later. And/or you might ask for her list of colleges and emphasize in the asking that you're not going to burden her, but you'd like to take some of the burden
off her shoulders by getting the deadlines figured out, researching contacts and requirements, and other such administrivia that doesn't require her "personal touch." Map out the available test dates based on the college requirements (ACT, SAT retake, SAT subjects?) and the application deadlines (including deadlines for merit aid consideration). Then set a date with her, perhaps at the end of your college visit vacation, to go over the milestones together. She'll probably appreciate having a roadmap to help make some sense of the application season.
geek_son found the college search process completely overwhelming and mostly didn't want to look or even think about it in junior year. College meant leaving home, which meant responsibility and the unknown, which made him nervous. He also refused to consider any further standardized testing. Then he fell in love with a college on our summer road trip and became engaged in the process. The difference? He could see himself there. (So could they -- he submitted his application ED and was done with the process in December.
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