Friend’s kid was looking at some top schools. Her stats were similar although she wasn’t #1 in her class. She’s majoring in Biochem or something like that with an eye toward medical school.
University Of Utah offered her a free ride. Her parents told me that the pride she felt knowing that the school really wanted her and how much they appreciated her made up for not going to a more prestigious school. Being able to save all that money with medical school on the horizon helped, too. She’s a big fish in a smaller pond (school-ranking-wise).