To those who inquired: yes, we have another child (class of 2024) who is a gifted, excellent student with anxiety and a love of musical theater - an excellent vocalist. A real wildcard at this point as far as college destination goes. She has roughly the same amount in her 529.
My son is interested in leaving CA, though he could always do it after college. He wants to go somewhere cooler - so we weren’t really thinking about NM or AZ. In case I didn’t say it above his preferences lean toward small school (or an honors college in a big school) with internships. He also thinks he wants a big name school.
We all liked UC Boulder for a number of reasons. The tour was very well done, the campus was consistently nice and well kept - luxurious by aging CA campus standards - and we can see my son living there (and possibly following him in retirement.) It’s an easy flight directly home out of Denver. We have friends in Colorado and love it. Seems like he would be a high performing kid there - so big in a little pond.
Again, I want to thank everyone for their input and food for thought. I’m so much less focused on merit aid and more focused on fit. I’m still having a hard time cutting schools off the list but just started looking at the Fiske book write ups and it does help you get some perspective about fit for sure.