Sure, Truman State is a fine school, but the flagship always gets the lion’s share of the state’s top students. I am not saying that this is the best choice, mind you. Many MO high school students grow up with the aim of attending Mizzou, just as in my home state of IL many of my HS classmates targeted the U of IL, Urbana-Champaign (and I remember one high-achieving girl who was elated at her acceptance at IL, almost as if she had been admitted to Harvard).
This is how it works. A lot of families with college-bound kids are not always the smartest decision-makers. Plus, most people outside of CC are much more familiar with large universities than LACs, even public ones. The perception–albeit a false one–is that Mizzou is obviously better than Truman. This conditioning is strong. I had to overcome it myself when I chose to attend Knox College over the U of IL-UC.
The same thing happens in FL, where I now live. FL has some of the lowest tuition rates in the country. For $6900 (yes, you read that right), one can attend the New College of Florida, which is in every way a typical private LAC except for its price tag. Why isn’t this the hottest (pardon the weather pun) school in FL? The reason is because not every FL resident is aware of it, and also the conditioning that says, “U of FL or FL State” is strong.