South Carolina has some interesting programs that the ‘middle of the class’ student is unlikely to get into. They also have great but competitive merit scholarships that attract the best of the best. The school also has a sizeable OOS population incl from the NE. It can be a safety, and you can apply to the special programs and scholarships e.g. McNair Scholarship, Capstone Scholars Program. It doesn’t have to be High School 2.0
If your parents can ‘pay a third’ - what is that actual number? A third of $70k for a private school is $23k… and you will struggle get merit down to this level at private collges. Our budget was about $35k and even the most generous private schools for merit were only just getting down to this figure.