No offense to UPenn, but when I think of intellectual Ivies, this fine school does not top that list. That is not to say that there aren’t intellectuals on campus, of course.
Before I made it that far down your post, I was thinking “UChicago” – and Wesleyan and Vassar, but no LACs allowed! – so I am glad that your child has that at #1.
Yale might fit a bit more than Harvard, but there dwell pockets of intellectualism and artsy/quirky folk at Harvard.
So those four are reaches for anyone who isn’t hooked. If UChicago is the unequivocal #1, I might suggest applying ED, since their RD acceptance rate is like 2-3%. (or was the last time I checked)
If she likes UChicago, I would suggest adding Columbia. I believe the schools are quite similar. I might replace UPenn with Columbia.
I might actually replace Harvard with Princeton, which I believe to be more intellectual overall than H.
Northwestern is a mix of pre-pro and intellectual and another great school all-around and reachy.
Dartmouth definitely fits from an intellectualism standpoint, though it has a rep for hard partying. (is that a big deal?). It’s also in the woods.
Cornell, like Northwestern, is very strong all-around. Dartmouth might be more intellectual than both, though – overall vibe – if we are splitting hairs. It is like a large LAC with a strong B school. Maybe replace Cornell with Brown.
If South Bend is a concern, Georgetown (DC) is an easy replacement – they are academic peers.
So maybe consider updating the reaches like this:
UChicago
Yale
Princeton in lieu of Harvard
Columbia in lieu of UPenn
Brown in lieu of Cornell
Dartmouth (if some woods and partying are okay)
Northwestern
Georgetown in lieu of Notre Dame
Washington U (see below)
Wash U in St. Louis is technically in the Midwest, and it is similar in well-roundedness to Northwestern. But it’s not quite as reachy – it is similar in that respect to Georgetown. WashU might be considered to round out the reaches.