I go to small catholic college preparatory school in Illinois. I am interested in law so schools that perk my interest would be Arizona State, Univ. of Alabama, Univ. of Iowa, Univ. of Illinois at Urbana, and of course the harder schools to get into like Univ. of Michigan, New York Univ, and Univ. of Virginia. Most of those are out-of-state schools for me and as far as money is concerned I would need some type of financial help, scholarships, etc. Weighted I have a 4.39 GPA without any AP classes being offered, I have a 28 on my ACT which I know isn’t high but I should be able to get that up a few more points. I don’t really know where to start to look for money to some of these schools and I know that them being public makes it a lot harder. Does anyone have any suggestions?
If by “interested in law” you mean that you want to go to law school, keep in mind that you can go almost anywhere and major in almost anything and still get into a good law school. It’s mostly about LSAT and GPA.
Most publics don’t give need based aid to out of state students. Michigan and Virginia are exceptions, but they’re tough to get into. You can look on the websites of the other schools that interest you to see the merit scholarships available. Some are guaranteed (like Alabama); most aren’t. You can also run the NPCs on each school’s website.
How much can you afford to pay each year? Do you need to get a full tuition scholarship to afford to attend, or would a smaller merit award be enough? Unfortunately, your in-state flagship is pretty expensive (more so for some majors than others) - can your family afford UIUC?
You will need to raise your ACT score significantly to get merit aid from any of the schools on your list.
I’m going to be bold and suggest you scrap NYU sooner than later. The school is about $70,000 a year, and merit aid is not particularly plentiful even IF you increase your ACT score. In addition, in terms of need based aid…NYU does not guarantee to meet full need for all…and they dont.
What CAN your family contribute annually towards your college costs? That is the single most important question you need answered now.
Your ability to attend law school will largely be driven by your LSAT score and undergrad GPA, and anynrelavan internship experiences, and LOR. The name of your undergrad school is less important.
In terms of OOS need based aid…UVA does meet full need for all,accepted students. MIchigan has a generous tuition reduction for students with family incomes under $60,000 a year. Both schools require the CSS Profile in addition to the fafsa. The other OOS publics on your list will be costly. Their primary mission is to educate the students in THEIR state…and OOS aid is not plentiful.
Did you take the SAT? Maybe that’s a better test for you.
I think it is important to define what “meets need” actually means. This doesn’t mean they pay for everything and you/your family pay nothing. It also doesn’t mean that your family pays an amount they feel they can reasonably afford. Please read thru many of the threads here on CC Financial Aid and learn 
Some of these schools are pretty clear about what they offer OOS. ASU and Iowa were two we looked at and I recall there being some info on their sites. Bama is very clear with their available merit offers. While you wouldn’t know for sure what you might get from competitive scholarships, its worth looking at each site to see what might be automatic, or potentially what’s the best (or most likely) merit award. Run NPCs. Also do the FAFSA estimator (I forgot the link) which would show you the ballpark of your EFC as a starting point for federal “need.”
Disclaimer: my S is OOS at Bama this fall. (There are a lot of Illinois kids in that class.)
Are you a rising senior? If so you really don't have much time to up your ACT, you need to probably get to at least a 33 even for auto tuition scholarships. Higher for competitive school entry, let alone merit, what is your UW GPA?
Have you run the NPCs to any of the schools? Is a 28 OK for admission for you into Urbana? What does that look like, $ wise? Most OOS publics are not handing out FA .The ones that do are looking for high stats/talent. I don’t see any bargains at ASU for my 33/3.97/top10% kid so I am never sure what it at ASU outside of NM. How much can you pay?
Asu Barrett has good merit scholarships but you don’t know what you’ll get till they tell you. You apply as soon as you hit 30 or higher on your Act, the higher the better.
Why these universities? They won’t especially help with law school…
Instead, look at American, Mount Holyoke, St Olaf, Lawrence, Denison (reaches) plus Earlham, Agnes Scott, U Scranton, St Michael’s, Lasalle, Luther, Gustavus Adolphus, Beloit, Kalamazoo. These colleges include a good philosophy dept and writing seminars, both of which is essential for law schools. Run the NPC on them and fill out the request info form.
@Haileyn – post #6 has some excellent suggestions. Ask your parents to run the Net Price Calculators on the above schools’ websites. Depending on your family income, many of them will come with much better price tags.
Are your parents paying for your private catholic high school? If so you really need to check whether FA is going to be on the cards at all. Your biggest priority is going to be assessing budget.
Ask your parents how much they will pay each year for college. Also you need to practice for the SAT and ACT and retake