It’s not direct admit, but University of North Alabama should come in at your price range, especially if you take the ACT/SAT and do even decently. Out of state students receiving an institutional scholarship receive in-state tuition, unless they change it. My son is finishing up his 2nd year there and was just admitted to the nursing program. He is in the honors college and it is rare for honors college students not to gain admission, you just need to keep up your grades and do decent on the HESI.
I was a bit hesitant about the non-direct admission and unsure of the quality of their programs but I am hearing good things and they just completed a new nursing building a few months ago as well as received a large donation for nursing scholarships. They seem to be investing a lot in the program and they have a new hospital in the town built within the last 3-4 years.
Actually there is a direct admit option, we just didn’t come across that information until the deadline had passed.