But even the states that have a high cost to their flagships offer other schools that the students can choose. CU is priced beyond the budgets of many Coloradans, but there are other public schools that are in budget. Illinois has other schools in the state that are a lot more affordable than UIUC. Many states have tuition agreements with neighboring states.
I don’t think those who have $50k, $75k in loans are the ones who had no other choice from their states. They are the ones who wanted a specific school. We had lived in California so my kids wanted to go to college in California. I said no. I said no to a lot of things so they were used to it.