2350 SAT single sitting, 1500 PSAT, 4.75 GPA (top 2%), 780s on subject tests, decent extracurriculars. I’m not sure what I want to major in, but the Classics (namely Latin), comparative lit, pre-law are possibilities. I have too many reaches and too few matches/safeties. Looking for schools that might award merit aid.
Geographic preferences? Urban/rural? Large school/university or small liberal arts college? Are women’s colleges an option – Bryn Mawr for instance, would offer merit award and is known for its Classics (and classical archaeology) programs. As for law school, any major will work, though students who have experience with logic/reasoning (Philosophy) and critical reading/writing skills will generally do better on LSAT. Pre-law is typically an advising program rather than a substantive an academic program. NESCACs do not offer merit awards, so even if Conn Coll, for instance, might be a solid match/safety, it will not award merit.
If you want to continue with writing emphasis, Kenyon could be an admissions match for a student who has demonstrated interest by signing up for info etc., with possibility of merit award though I haven’t heard of awards generally exceeding $20,000. University of Iowa has a renowned graduate writing program, and the faculty generally teaches undergrads as well. You would be a sure admit to Honors program at Iowa and they do award merit to out of state students, you can check admissions and merit eligibility on Iowa’s website as there is an online calculator.
@Midwestmomofboys I’d like to stay on the East Coast, but that’s not a must. I’d be fine with urban or rural areas, large universities or liberal arts colleges, although right now, I’m leaning towards large universities. I don’t think I’d want to go to a women’s college, though.
Is cost an issue or can your family pay full freight?
@suzy100 at this point, my parents have saved around 200k for my college tuition. However, merit aid would be a boon.
Mid-size universities could include George Washington, American, Brandeis, Univ Pittsburgh, as well as Emory and Tulane if you venture further south – though many of those require demonstrated interest for acceptance. If you are willing to consider Canada, Toronto and McGill are world class universities, though I am not familiar with admission of US students there. I also hear great things about University of Rochester and Case Western (Cleveland), though we never researched them. East coast LACs could include Skidmore, St Lawrence, Conn Coll (no merit), Dickinson, Franklin & Marshall (no merit).
The challenge is, for a high stat/high achieving applicant, they are qualified for admission at the top 20 universities and smaller colleges, but given the low acceptance rates, may well not get admitted. Finding matches – which often include schools where fit and demonstrated interest matter, is a challenge because a student might be on the high end of that school’s stats, but are not admitted because of “yield protection” – the school admits students whose profiles show they are likely to attend. In the absence of demonstrated interest or a strong argument about fit, the high achieving student may get wait listed and then afforded the opportunity to argue their case that they really would attend if offered a spot off the waitlist. Bottom line, for a student such as yourself, the list often consists of reaches and safeties, there is no “middle ground.”
Identifying a few schools with non-binding EA, where a student could be admitted by late fall, would help reduce some of the uncertainty. Also, public schools which do rolling admissions could produce a fall acceptance to alleviate some of the pressure.
Based on all of your criteria (Strong in your academic areas of interest, East Coast, current large school preference, merit awards) the University of Rochester would seem to be a good option to consider. For a school which meets some of your criteria, consider Kenyon, which is very strong in your areas of interest, particularly literature, and offers merit scholarships.
College of the Holy Cross has an excellent Classics department and awards full tuition merit scholarships to a few Classics majors each year.
Most Jesuit colleges have top-notch Philosophy, Classics, and Law programs, if you have no qualms about attending a church-affiliated school. Their traditions of intellectual inquiry are especially strong in those areas. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Association_of_Jesuit_Colleges_and_Universities
Compare public school prices with what you’re likely to pay at private schools that interest you. For an out-of-state student, Wisconsin or Ohio State would run about ~$40K, Penn State a bit more, Minnesota less. All four apparently have good Classics departments.
bump
Fordham would give merit aid and you might qualify for the honors program. Also they have non-binding EA which is a nice thing for a safety (so you get in by Dec). As financial safetys you may also consider your state flagship and SUNY schools (ex. SUNY Binghamton) which are good values even for OOS.
Look into strong honors colleges: USC Columbia, Penn State Schreyer, Michigan LSA, UV Echols, ASU Barrett, UMN-TC Honors, UOregon Clark, Temple Honors. Barrett and Temple Honors are safeties for you, apply as soon as the app opens and have two sure things for peace of mind.
Start expressing interest at all LACs and private universities in the top 50 that seem interesting to you. it’s just one form and your browser may even autofill for you. 
This way you’ve expressed basic interest. Once they start sending you emails, click on them and start winnowing your list.
A basic way to classify universities would be to consider those with 25-40% acceptance rates = matches (regardless of stats) and those with 40+% acceptance rates would be safeties.