Solution: take FULL RIDE at Flagship (U of KY) or large school (U of Central FL), and get a Master’s in
Business, or Master’s in scientific field of choice (Doors WILL open for you if you do FREE bachelor’s at KY, and Master’s of your choice at say Carnegie Mellon. If Carnegie, Cornell, Princeton, RPI, Vanderbilt, etc. come back with offer of $25 K for everything, then strongly consider that option, but I believe it will be closer to $30 K and UP for everything.
PS: I interviewed a CS recruiter in Ohio, and she heavily recruits from OSU and Ohio University. Her colleague’s son is at U of KY, & she said she would easily hire a candidate from KY. IN fact, she said “I can’t speak for other companies, but I will hire your son from a state school… because I will give him a COMPUTER test and see how he does in the interview…”