Upper years in the local state school can offer opportunities that you did not find freshman year.
If your student (or you) is very close to the top of the class in a large state school, and if you treat people responsibly, and if you can get to know your professors, then this can for example open up opportunities for internships, coops, or independent research projects even at the state school.
Graduating with a bachelor’s degree, great GPA, great references, and no debt, can be a very good start.