My D sounds like yours. Smart, unhooked. We were full pay. She attended Bates and had a great experience. My son was also smart, unhooked, but unmotivated. He had a great experience at Binghamton.
I work with college bound high schoolers in the North East. Many of them fit the description of our kids and they go everywhere: the south is hot right now. In fact, all sorts of OOS public universities are always popular. Michigan State or U Michigan. Indiana U, the Ohio State, anything in Florida. The UCs and CSUs. Colorado. But so are many private U’s, especially on the Eastern seaboard.
Your kids will end up where they should be. Read the old classic “Truthful Advice about Getting into Top Colleges for your Average Excellent Student” here on CC.