And it’s old reputation for ‘sad students’ doesn’t sound like it is true anymore? (I hope)
ETA: I read this in some ridiculous list from 2015! But everything you said sounds super consistent with what I’ve been reading lately!
I think it’s a great hidden gem!
A few of the private Tech schools are generous with merit money, especially for women - IIT, Embry-Riddle, Florida Tech, Rose-Hilman…you’d have to decide if the city/state/area is blue enough for you.
People have decided that Rice, Vanderbilt, UF, Wisconsin, Michigan are blue enough, even if the States are red or red-ish, but it is up to you.
I’ve added IIT (thanks to the awesome post above). I think she’s hate Rose’s location because we come from the ‘farm belt’ and she does NOT want to stay here! 
I put Michigan Tech on the tentative list --but it has some of the same remote location issues as Rose -but it IS on the Great Lakes so that is a bit of a bonus for her. We will have to have a discussion about whether the Lakes make up for the far north location.
Rice and Vandy are tough reaches -and reaches -well those are easy to find! I just want to give her some more likely options to balance out the ‘wish list’ options.
While I agree that Vandy and Rice are fine for LGBTQ, etc. your issue was this - states with abortion access.
And they are not fine.
They are also in states that are among the more restrictive regarding abortion.
FL and Indiana are not states with abortion access which is what OP called out in their defintiion of blue in title. 
I said she’s have to decide if the cities were ‘blue enough.’ Madison and Ann Arbor are blue, but the whole states aren’t (always) blue. People think Colorado Springs is in a blue state so it must be blue, but it is a conservative city. Whether the student wants to be there is up to her (and I’m not sure you can get an abortion there, but one can in Denver). You have to look at more than just the map posted above to determine if it has the services the OP is looking for.
I assumed by the title of the post that if there was no abortion access that was that, it doesn’t matter how blue the city is, there is no full-spectrum women’s healthcare in Indiana or Fl, even in super liberal areas.
OP can clarify, of course.
deleted for redundancy
I’m going to keep this short to avoid political discussions — but It’s less specific access to abortion and more as a litmus test for politics.
She also does have some concern that other forms of women’s healthcare might be restricted.
Living in a blue town in a red state, or a more conservative area in a blue state does impact the experience. But laws tend to come from the state level.
My D was a student there in 2015 and it didn’t seem sad then! It is an engineering school though. It leans introverted. If your kid is serious about applying there or gets accepted, send me a PM.
I doubt OP’s D would want to be denied care in Idaho to the point that she HAD to be airlifted out to save her life in the first place
Spokane Wash is 20 minutes away from U of Idaho.
OP has clarified her daughter will choose a more urban setting in a blue state, not a blue city in a red state. She hasn’t been clear if daughter would be okay in a red city in a blue state, like Colorado Springs or even parts of California (I lived in a republican congressional district in Orange County - but of course blue cities and counties were close by).
I really doubt UVM will come in close to $25k, but maybe. I was just suggesting some affordable state schools, which is what OP asked for.
UVM (Vermont) actually came in at a really reasonable number! And not entirely focused on cities - suburbs are on the list – just trying to avoid really rural areas.
At some point -compromises will likely have to be made. Just trying to figure out the best mix of affordability with schools that check her most important criteria.
Can you share the list of schools that are still under consideration and schools that are no longer under consideration because of net price calculators or other factors? If you’re still looking for additional options, then it helps to know what’s already been considered between your two threads.
I’ll post it bellow -but keep in mind that this summer might produce a big shift. Most of these are private because much better chance of meeting need. She goes to an Engineering ‘camp’ this summer -so that will (hopefully) determine if we are looking for an ABET program or a strong Bio/Biotech program. While they overlap on a Venn diagram -they aren’t the same list.
(Also the list is huge at the moment: 20 Schools! It will be cut back next year)
**NOTE: Safety/Target/Reach based on College Vine which I think is generous but I have to use something to make the list. **
TRUE Safeties (>90% admission chance, affordable)
University of Kansas (in-state school) -benchmark for cost
University of Vermont - affordable and with GPA Scholarships, more affordable with other scholarships
Michigan Tech - at edge of affordable with standard GPA Scholarships (additional scholarships exist but are hard to get)
Safety with regard to admission (per College Vine) but need $$$ (defined as >80% admission, need strong Scholarship
Illinois Tech
Elon - this has gotten ‘hot’ so maybe more Target but her stats are strong for this school; this ‘violates’ the blue state rule but I have relatives here who are less than an hour away
RIT - Safety per College Vine (maybe due to gender?)
WPI -Safety per College Vine (maybe due to gender?)
Target
RPI - again with the $$$ need
Mount Holyoke - NTC is well within budget, an excellent choice and a great school (No ABET Engineering)
St Olaf - another NTC well within budget and I think the have strong Bio programs (No ABET Engineering)
Dickinson College (recent add) - NTC within budget, excellent biology options and great study abroad (3+2 Engineering Only with Case Western and RPI)
Brandeis - NTC within budget; strong biology program (adding an Engineering program??)
Connecticut College - NTC within budget, cousin recommended? (no ABET engineering)
Hard Target/ ‘Easier’ Reaches (between 28-30% chance)
Skidmore College - known for small classes and collaboration (3+2 Engineering only with RPI)
Macalester College (recent add) - LAC in a city so that’s novel (no ABET)
Olin College of Engineering (obviously only for Engineering) - I love this for her if she decides to go Engineering - it checks every box she has including budget -but hard to get into
Reaches (26% chance or less)
Case Western Reserve University (recommended by one of her teachers); beside all the other great things - this has TRULY excellent aid
Wesleyan University (recommended by one of her teachers) (No ABET)
Davidson College (violates the blue state, but relatives within an hours drive) (3+2 Engineering only with Columbia or WashU)
Vassar College (no ABET)
Backup options?
Clark University
Lehigh
For those colleges where competitive merit is needed, reclassify them by the difficulty of getting the needed merit money. I.e. if the needed merit money is a reach, classify the school as a reach, because admission that is too expensive is the same as rejection.
Looking at the Net Price by income and/or scholarships (or sometimes, sticker), I think the schools below would have a decent shot of getting into budget. Most are likely or extremely likely admits, but some (like Harvey Mudd) are schools that are a reach-for-all.
Seconding New Mexico Tech here (about 1200 undergrads).
Has Clarkson (NY about 2700 undergrads) been considered?
Since North Carolina is a possibility, have you looked into Campbell (about 3k undergrads) that is ABET-accredited for general engineering?
Bradley (IL): About 4100 undergrads and ABET-accredited for several engineering fields
Calvin (MI): About 3k undergrads. Its religious affiliation permeates the campus more than at many other schools, but it’s put out some very academically strong students. ABET-accredited for CS and general engineering.
Carroll (MT): About 1100 undergrads. Montana has solid protections for abortion access, but is not super blue. ABET-accredited for general engineering and civil engineering. Investigate its financial status.
Fort Lewis (CO): About 3300 undergrads and ABET-accredited for general engineering and computer engineering. This should definitely be within budget as your D would get $8-10k off (source) making it $25-27k.
Frostburg State (MD): About 3300 undergrads and ABET-accredited for general engineering.
Gonzaga (WA): About 5100 undergrads and ABET-accredited in several fields
Harvey Mudd (CA): About 900 undergrads but also part of the Claremont Consortium, adding about 4k more. ABET-accredited for general engineering, but I strongly suspect that it’s strong across all engineering disciplines.
Kettering (MI): About 1400 undergrads and ABET-accredited in many fields
Lake Superior State (MI): About 1700 undergrads and ABET-accredited for computer, electrical, and mechanical engineering. Sticker price is within budget at around $26k.
Manhattan College (NY): About 3100 undergrads and ABET-accredited in multiple fields.
Olivet Nazarene (IL): About 2500 undergrads and ABET-accredited in general engineering.
Saint Martin’s (WA): About 1400 undergrads and ABET-accredited in civil and mechanical engineering
Seattle Pacific (WA): About 2400 undergrads and ABET-accredited in computer, electrical, general, and mechanical engineering.
Smith (MA): About 2500 undergrads at this women’s college that’s in the same consortium as Mount Holyoke. ABET-accredited in general engineering.
Trinity College (CT): About 2200 undergrads and ABET-accredited in general engineering
Union (NY): About 2100 undergrads and ABET-accredited in several areas
U. of Hartford (CT): About 4k undergrads and ABET-accredited in several areas
U. of Maryland - Eastern Shore: About 1900 undergrads at this HBCU and ABET-accredited in general engineering
U. of the Pacific (CA): About 3300 undergrads and ABET-accredited in multiple areas
Western New England: About 2400 undergrads and ABET-accredited in several areas
Great list! I would note that Gonzaga, even though it’s in WA state, it is pretty conservative student body.
Awesome adds -thanks! Some of those (like Union) have heavy Greek emphasis or like Gonzaga are fairly conservative student bodies --but many of the others might be great.
Smith’s been on and off the list. She’s interested in BME if she goes Engineering (yes, I’ve read all the challenges to this -but she’s okay with it)…so that limits the ABET program options. (Yes - some of these like Olin don’t have Biomed per se --but they have some concentrations in Biomed which is close enough, and potentially better.) I didn’t put that down -because she still on the fence regarding Engineering so it isn’t worth crafting a list specific that that (YET).