OK - but if money is an issue and I’m removing merit:
Alabama is $49188 direct costs (tuition room and board) - so add another $7K as you note. That’s $56,188 + books, transport, other activities, etc.
Charleston is $52,512 minus $45,512 - and is easier to get to from the NE. You can fly, likely non-stop and take a $25 uber.
Does Charleston charge more for services?
One future differential will be housing. It’s inexpensive at Alabama off campus - or can be - not sure today but $600-800 was easily obtainable two years ago.
At Charleston, to be near campus, you’ll be $1200+ for something not nice and you can get nice or a bit cheaper - but then you’re a 20+ minute walk away or need a car.
We are paying $1300 - close to campus (and MUSC) and I describe it as a cockroach infested dump - but that’s giving it too much credit.
The other thing is - the dorms at Charleston are really bad - although I think they’ve been renovating one per year - whereas Bama is really nice - although my son was in the Honors Dom (Ridgecrest). But I’m guessing all are nice.
At both, most seem to move off campus after a year.
Also check whether SC and/or AL have certification reciprocity with NYS - because the 2 educational systems are ranked much lower than NYS/neighborhing states, it’s quite possible he’d have to add courses - for instance, to get an Elementary Ed certification in NYS, students need a liberal arts major from an approved list and a set of education courses. (The salaries are very different too, so he may well want to return for that reason.)
This is an example of what he’d need to take at either CoC or UA.