OP please come back and update us once decisions are out. I’m generally curious, of course, but also want to know if my theory might be correct! (I know no one will know exactly why anyone is admitted or denied from these schools)
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Sure thing.
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Thirty miles. You don’t say. 
Just got accepted to Caltech.
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Hurray!!!
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Yes, you are already in at some very good (and affordable) universities with a strong program in your intended major. Congratulations!
I am not sure if you are kidding or serious about graduate school, but it is a very realistic possibility to get a bachelor’s degree at UAH, UMD, or another “top 100” university and then get a graduate degree at a very highly ranked school, including any of your reach schools. I have met many people who have done just that (and I did get my master’s at one of your reach schools).
I think that you still have a reasonable chance at one of your reach schools. However, I do wonder whether getting a bachelor’s at UAH and then a master’s at one of your reach schools would be just as realistic, depending on the aid offered perhaps less expensive (?), and you will have a master’s degree. Depending on the major some students also go straight from a bachelor’s degree to a PhD program, and again students who do this at top graduate programs typically come from a very wide range of undergraduate universities. Doing very well as an undergraduate student is way more important than where you do it. “Doing very well” does typically include high grades, looking for research opportunities, and getting along well with professors and others.
I think that you are likely to do very well.
Edit. I missed the Caltech part. This might bring up a tough decision. Caltech is very academically demanding. The desire to work that hard needs to come from inside yourself. Only you can know whether you want to do this right now, or over the next four years. This is a great opportunity, but only if you want to do it.
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That’s awesome.
I hope it comes in as affordable. Congrats to you.
For us on cc to learn, it does seem that FL may not be as important there.
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The rigor is something I have been grappling with. Because of the nature of my upbringing I am extremely ill-prepared to start a degree at Caltech, but I’m not one to back down from a challenge, especially one involving science and math. I absolutely love learning, and I think I would fit in really well, but I struggle with knowing what the transition will be like. I think I’ll be able to power through but I’m just not sure.
The AOs assure me that I was accepted for a reason, so I think I’ll just to go with that. Caltech wouldn’t accept anyone that they didn’t think had the motivation and drive to handle the rigor. Deep down, I’m pretty sure I could do it. More importantly, I want to do it.
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To me this is the most important thing (assuming that Caltech is affordable for your family).
Edit: I might add, there is one thing that I learned at MIT that I did not realize until years later. I learned that I could do it. This is one thing that you might learn at Caltech that you otherwise might never know.
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