However, the private colleges with the best financial aid (where affordability is more likely to be realistic) are only realistic admission-wise for “top students”. (Of course, there are other nuances, like divorced parents, fluctuating income, small business or self-employment income, etc. that can cause financial aid issues for some students.)
Some states’ public universities have good in-state financial aid. But others do not. Better to be a resident of California than Pennsylvania for this purpose.
This section of the article should have recommended running each college’s net price calculator.