The issue with out of state publics is just, the out of state cost plus low financial aid. For instance, I’d love to go to UW in Seattle, or CU Boulder, or, hell, UMNTC. All have excellent ecology programs. I remember also being interested in UC Davis - actually I got in out of high school at that university, I just can’t afford OOS tuition, otherwise I’d be there right now. I’ve also looked internationally - schools such as UBC, Queensland, etc. Again, same issue.
I’ll definitely apply to all my reaches as well as some others (Columbia, Yale, Harvard - just because why not?), and I’ll look into the LACs. I suppose I just don’t know if I’m comfortable compromising on the specific depth and specialization I’d like to reach that I know a larger research university can grant, even if the end result is having to pay more for it. But still, something to look into. I’ll look into Berea when I can.