I used to live in the Chicago area and would definitely be interested in going there, and would at least be interested somewhere with a somewhat urban environment. Upper east coast is definitely appealing being close to skiing. I am interested in LACs but my focus is on a university since I feel that would be a better fit for me overall.
I’d consider myself a fairly social person, but I would really like to end up somewhere that I can connect with others that share a similar mindset and are also focused and motivated to achieve highly! My hs counselor said she was very confident in my chances for UMich and said I should be confident in my applications to some of the top schools on my list from my research (Harvard/UPenn/Dartmouth/Yale). That said, our school usually only has one student attend an elite school out of state in each class (if that), which is something to consider.
Also quick update (edited in original post): I was able to score a 1570 on my school administered SAT (790 ERW 780 Math) with a 1580 superscore, which I am super excited about. I felt that my prior score helped get me in the door, so to speak, but I feel way more confident after getting my new score in.