This is such a personal decision. We passed on the regional state school that gave almost a full ride to DS, but that decision was based a lot on them not having the exact major he wanted. It was a great “fit” otherwise and I think we may have chosen it over the higher ranked more expensive schools if they had. However, family friends that are in academia did tell us there would be a lot more opportunities at the large research flagships than the smaller regional schools.
Between the two equally ranked schools he was accepted to we went with the cheaper one, not the one he liked the most. It was a 24K difference over 4 years and DS did not feel it was worth it. He said he’d rather have the money to do a study abroad and buy a car at graduation than go to his 1st choice school over his 2nd. Other people might prioritize that differently.