@MYOS1634 I guess you missed that whole craft beer revolution in America. Let’s see 3 Floyds - near Chicago, Dogfish Head near Philly, Alchemist in Vermont just to name some local breweries to check out or at least their brews when you’re in that area.
^yup, but I don’t think they’re sold in a stadium during baseball games.
Craft beer visit could be interesting though.
Craft beers are sold in every stadium I’ve been in Philly - baseball, football, and hockey.
Quick google: http://www.thedailymeal.com/top-10-baseball-stadiums-craft-beer-0
Ok, perhaps it’ll be of interest to OP, if only as a cultural experience. Not sold on the idea a full-on pro baseball game is a good idea though.
(I still have a hard time wrapping my mind around the idea a Briton would like American beer, craft or not, but I know craft beers are better than Budweiser/Coors even if I hate beer - my scale is “acceptable if there’s nothing else” to “abominable”. I went to a craft beer tasting event and it was horrible from start to finish 
although the beers were pretty, lots of different colors you could lift up to the lights to look at. I suppose tasting a few of them would be an interesting experience for OP and there are beer tasting events in Chicago.)
Just do the Samuel Adams tour in Boston. Wonderful experience.
@PurpleTitan You seem to be questioning the OP’s kids’ preference for US schools. From what I have seen from my kids and their friends, it usually comes to one issue. The kids who are dead sure of their academic and/or career interests almost always end up staying in the UK. By comparison, the kids who 1) are unsure of what they want to study or 2) want to double major in 2 very different subjects often at least apply to the US. A few other positives for the US are that other than St Andrews and Oxbridge, most of the top schools are very large universities often in some of the least attractive cities. The lack of on campus housing after
the first year can often detract from the college experience. This makes the typical US LAC experience preferable by comparison to the UK.
Lastly, at least for students from private UK high schools, it is much harder to get into Oxbridge, so many would rather go to the US. Therefore these kids will often apply to the US and compare their offers later particularly when merit scholarships can make the overall college cost somewhat comparable.
Of the schools on the OP’s list, most do not offer merit aid. The ones that do, UChicago and BC, are very stingy with it. Based on the stats the OP posted, her D could get strong merit at a variety of schools, but not the ones on the list.
@MYOS1634 - A beer drinking UK friend was astounded at the variety and quality of US beers. He thought every US beer was like Budweiser, but was surprised to be able to find all of his UK and Continental favorites as well as a much deeper pool of US craft beers. One thing he commented on was that the European beers all fit into nicely defined categories, while the US brewers were very inventive in mixing and creating new kinds of beers.
@zinhead I was solely basing my comments on my own experiences and observations living in the UK. Some of the kids I am aware of in my kids’ schools are looking for a combination of need based financial aid and/or merit aid and are compiling their USA college lists accordingly.
@londondad, sure, they should apply where ever.
However, that’s why I suggested looking in to the Dutch university colleges. They’re tiny LACs (or rather, more like honors colleges, except distinct from the parent university/ies) with mostly international student bodies that provide more flexibility to someone undecided, small classes, and American-style dorm housing (I believe for all 3 years).
DD2 (an American) will be starting at Amsterdam University College this fall, and we visited 3 Univ. Colleges in the Netherlands. They are similar to an American LAC in many respects except: (1) they are 3 years; (3) much more int’l student body, 50% kids Dutch, about 40% from EU, 10% from outside EU; (4) while they have housing, it is not the same as US dorms, some have a cafeteria, some don’t; (5) incredibly cheap if you’re within the EU, about the same as our in-state options for an American; (6) clearly geared towards students who want to go on to grad school; (7) they expect more independence from students.
Not sure they’d fit OP’s kids interest in studying in the US, but could be an option.
Lots of good minor league baseball teams along the Chicago - Boston axis as well. And after the 3d beer/inning, who cares what is in that 16 ounce ice-cold aluminum bottle.
Granted, @londondad, I agree that if she wants to or is thinking of a double major (or major and minor) in 2 or more fields where one is somewhat esoteric (for instance, dance+econ), an American LAC or private may be the way to go.
Northwestern is really playing up that aspect these days. They want kids who are good and have interests/passions in multiple fields.
With dance, though, you have to investigate what each school emphasizes. It seems that every school stresses either modern dance or ballet but it’s rare to find one strong in both.
@Bigmacattack, thank you for the suggestions…one of my friends D is at W&L…and her D is extremely happy with her time there …and cannot recommend highly enough. Trying to fit in to about 10-12 visit tops, so spending time pre-researching the colleges…and trying to short-list for the visit.
@MYOS1634, @Dolemite, @Zinhead … Would be happy to do the Beer tasting…looking forward actually 
@PurpleTitan, @Bigmacattack, agree NL has some good options…we passed through Amsterdam during the while the World Cup was on…and NL was playing Spain…a memorable time out with lots of Beer. Despite the Football and the beer haze, we did manage to visit couple of colleges…so have a good sense of that / agree they are real value/credible options for sure…
My son’s shortlist changed a good deal after visiting so we were glad that we had managed to see quite a few schools. Some were exactly as anticipated, but most were not – for better or worse. Five he rejected outright, some for good reasons, some just based on gut reaction. You have to have enough choices to allow for the illogical logic of the teenage mind.
I only wanted my son to apply to schools that he had visited and our summer trip was his only opportunity. (I should say “we had visited” as my own peace of mind was a factor too.) Focusing on the east coast – Philadelphia, New York, Boston, New England, with a couple of targeted stops in the midwest – made sense to us, but even then, we missed a few that would have been good options (which is okay: you can’t see them all).
After visiting he put together a solid list of 8, including 2 safeties. Because the selection process for internationals is more random, I would recommend that non-US citizens apply to more, especially if attending school in the US remains a top priority for your daughter after her visits. Whether you include safeties, depends on how strongly your daughter want to make studying in America happen.
@momrath, thanks a lot for sharing …at the moment we are likely to visit around 10-12 / while missing out on a few we would ideally like to visit, but is becoming too difficult logistically. I think we would end up applying to a similar numberish …c.10? …including the ED application. At the moment still thinking that we would end up applying ED, but let’s see how that develops post the visit…
The great thing about ED is that if they’re accepted, they’re done. The downside is of course the disappointment if they’re not accepted. It’s hard to invest in a #1 choice then move on if things don’t work out. The key point is to have all the RD applications completed and ready to go, well in advance of the ED notification date. In the event of denial or waitlist, the RD list can be re-calibrated to add a few more less selectives.
Caution: Anyone under 21 won’t be able to taste beers on a US beer tour. Some won’t allow under-21’s on the tour at all, while others will give them a substitute. On the Sam Adams tour it’s root beer. Baxter in Lewiston (near Bates) gives minors a Maine-made craft soda. Also check hours in advance. The Philadelphia Brewing Company tour gets high ratings but they only do on Saturdays between noon and 3.
Correction: For ED, I should have said denied or deferred, not wait listed.
Another potentially great option I just stumbled upon is Trinity College Dublin. Specifically, the multidisciplinary BESS major, where you start off studying business, econ, and various other social sciences before concentrating on one or 2 subjects.
Even for Americans, it’s fairly cheap and is probably even more so for EU residents.
Evidently, Trinity College Dublin allows a decent number of double majors:
https://www.tcd.ie/TSM/prospective/pattern-combinations.php