Are her parents college educated? Was she born in the US?
It sounds like this list of schools is looking at where she wants to live (ie. big city) and not what she wants to study.
If she can get her test scores up, USC (a private school in the heart of LA) has some very competitive merit scholarships. Vanderbilt also has some competitive merit scholarships but look at the descriptions of the scholarships. They aren’t for kids who are just smart. They are for kids who are smart and civic minded, smart and leaders, etc. I see a lot of writing focused activities but you didn’t mention if she is more than a participant in any of her EC.