I've polled a few colleagues, and I think I can offer reassurance. Several of my colleagues at a small-town college have had their children get into "the best schools," including Harvard and Oberlin, in spite of a similar lack of opportunities.

What the schools look for is rather complex, and they do look at research--but that's not all they look for. They look for good grades, for high class standing, for students who have done well in tough courses, for good letters and essays, and for community involvement. There's no question that getting into a top graduate school is going to depend on what sort of research work you did as an undergraduate, but I think admissions people are too sensible to require research of high schoolers!

Besides, most top schools are looking for a mix of backgrounds in their students. For example, I saw a feature story when I was in Blacksburg, Virginia, some years ago, about a dirt-poor rural white girl who was admitted to Harvard on the strength of her good grades and what she did with the opportunities she had.

In that vein, have your daughter look for opportunities for research (try a local college or university, or a local high school teacher), for community service, and so forth.

I urge you and your daughter not to let yourselves be intimidated by this sort of thing. I was intimidated, coming from a small Midwestern town of 1200, and so I didn't bother to apply to "top schools." I got a good education anyway--a college education is FAR more dependent what the student makes of it than a high school education is--but I undoubtedly missed some exciting opportunities.

Good luck!