There’s a lot of schools buying kids - schools like Kalamazoo, Susquehanna, Furman, Juniata, Allgehency. You can see some on this thread - but you want to stay close to Iowa…but that’s why Truman State, well respected, is a great safety valve. It hits all your desires.
But see this thread to get an idea of what you might pay at other places - but it’s farther from you and may not have the astro content you desire.
If you go back about 25 messages, some of the posts have merit amounts - and you can compare.
I’d think next year will be even better.
But when you have a budget, you need to build a list for the budget and include one assured to hit cost - whether it’s not an LAC - so a Iowa/Iowa State/Kansas type….or a further away LAC.