<p>One of your criteria is good food. Virginia Tech’s Turner Place just won an award for being the best new dining facility in the country. VT has won many awards for their dining services.</p>
<p>You have two excellent instate schools on your list-UVa and VT. I had one son at each in engineering. Both great schools and which you prefer many times comes down to personal fit.</p>
<p>Only you and your family can decide if it is worth paying more than instate cost for a place like Cornell. Our family was full pay instate for UVa and VT. That was our limit. We did not make our kids pursue merit aid elsewhere. By the same token,if our kids had wanted to go to a school that cost more, such as a private or OOS public, that would have been on them. We felt their needs were well met with not paying more than the cost of our instate schools. YMMV. It truly is a personal choice for each family and no one here can really tell you and your parents how much to spend for college and how to spend your money! Good luck!</p>