My nephew was facing a similar situation. It was Texas Tech or a private college. My BIL was on the hook to pay the full price of either. He had gone through similar choice scenarios with his older twin sons, and now some years later, the one who had gone instate Texas was doing as well or better than his twin. THe OOSer returned to TX with his expensive degree and is in exactly the same position as his peers who stayed instate, though he did get his dream school experience including being in a whole other environment for 4 years.
An offer was put on the table that the youngest would get half the difference in cost between the two choices as a graduation gift. He would not have to work in college, could go abroad, have a car, not have to take out any loans, and get a full expense allowance. He chose to go to Texas tech.