regarding $30,000 - one of the in-state costs that much and that is the amount I told my D that I am willing to pay yearly for any OOS school. student worked hard and has high stats and hence expectation of merit scholarships.
not attending an in-state is a personal choice. in-state almost is like an extension of high school in our case. lot of students from D’s school do not prefer that in-state school for this same reason. It is not such an odd reason after all.
As long as the OOS school COA is almost same as in-state school, it is fine.