Michigan, Purdue, UIUC, UMD, and GA Tech are public universities whose main mission is to provide more affordable college costs for their instate tax paying families. There is a reason they have OOS costs…OOS fami,is aren’t contributing a nickel towards the support of higher education in those states.
You say your daughter got accepted at an Uber elite public but she doesn’t want to go there. Why is that? Because she thinks she is going to run into her HS classmates all the time? That’s garbage. These flagship universities…all of the ones you listed, and probably including your own…are large schools with plenty of students your kid won’t know. She never needs to see her HS classmates.
Engineering is a very “even” course of study at these colleges which are ALL ABET accredited…your own flagship probably is as well.
Yes, some merit awards do require the FAFSA, but that is because those merit awards also consider financial need…and your family apparently does NOT have financial need.
The cost of attendance at Purdue for OOS students is in the $42,000 a year range. If your FAFSA EFC is $50,000, you will be a full pay family at Purdue.
Georgia Tech cost of attendance is in the over $50,000 a year range. You will be full pay there too.
So…the BIG question…do you have $200,000 plus saved (you absolutely can expect a cost increase annually at the schools listed) to pay the college costs at the schools where no merit was given?
If so…you are good to go.
If not…will your daughter taking the $5500 freshman Direct Loan help?
Are these affordable for your family acceptances…or not?
If not…your elite instate flagship really needs to be on the table.
And if grad school or professional school is possible, your college savings might just be better off being spent for that.
This is your money and your family decision. But those OOS publics are going to cost a lot more than your instate public for a very equivalent engineering education.