Most public colleges, the flagships anyway, are large. Even if they are in a remote area, they become a city in themselves with restaurants and theater and concerts. They often have big time sports, either at the school or professional teams in the area. Most large publics have all the majors you can think of, and allow switching between the schools.
Some of the top 20 schools are rural and may have more limited offerings, such as no engineering or music schools. Not all are, of course. For me, a school with fewer than 3000 students is just too small.
If you live in California, you (or your kids) would have to decide just how far away they want to go. It’s a long way to Colby Maine or Williamstown Mass. Planes, trains and automobiles.