"Are these schools looking for AA girls like myself who would thrive and contribute to their respective societies?"
Selective schools want students who have excellent achievement and potential. That's different than people who would thrive or enjoy or contribute.
Your decision to apply to very selective schools should be based upon a sober evaluation of what you have to bring to the table that would entice one of these schools to choose you from their pool of extremely competitive applicants. Are you one of the top scholars at your HS (one of the small handful known by the staff and principal)? Have you excelled academically amongst your peers? Are you a person of clear influence? If yes to all these, then maybe you're viable.
African American or female, these similar questions need to be answered by any potential applicant. Earlier, you posted that "your stats aren't great". What does that mean?
You might also peruse this forum as well:
African-American Students - College Confidential
As to app fees, waivers can be had for lower to mid income families. If this applies to your family, consider it. Good luck to you.
