I missed this - then Williams should definitely be a no whereas Mac is in the middle of the country, but not the middle of nowhere.
A Swarthmore - is a Williams equivalent but has ABET engineering and is not in the middle of nowhere.
A Georgia Tech will be a Purdue - but smack in the city, etc.
A UMN or Pitt again - not on the coast but in the big city, etc. UK is urban as you know, but small city. Louisville might fit you better and has an up and coming engineering program - the Speed School.
So coastal state doesn’t mean non rural.
So do you want urban, etc. and the where doesn’t matter….or do you want coastal - and by that I don’t just mean state - but say a U of Washington (on the coast) or an Embry Riddle / Florida Tech - both on the coast - or yes a UC - but over $80K a year. UCSD and UCSB then should make your list - like ocean close.
The Boston schools are obviously very close to the cost -
In the end, budget drives ALL decisions - but look at locations - because a coastal state doesn’t mean it’s not rural. You can googlemap or whatever map you choose - of any school. But you can’t make any decisions to add a school until you understand affordability. So your parents need to come up with an actual $$ figure of what they can afford per year.