50K/year is a comfortable budget, but I don’t know that it is worth spending that much when you have options in Texas. Saving money now and use it later for a graduate degree out-of-state or even abroad might make more sense.
I see that schools in Texas care a lot about high school ranking. Can you share your son’s approximate raking?
If you really want go out-of-state, I think that you need to aim a bit lower than Wisconsin or Florida, considering that computer engineering is the desired major.
Check the COA for the universities below. They all offer some level of merit but you might be full pay nonetheless. The numbers are the US News ranking for the engineering programs.
Arizona State University: 36 : Biomed - 29, Mechanical - 21, Electrical -22, Environmental - 17, Civil - 17, Computer - 20
Boston University: 52 : Biomed - 9 , Mechanical - 30 (offers an Aerospace concentration), Electrical - 31
Colorado State University: 72
Iowa State University: 45 : Civil - 22, Industrial - 20
Mississippi State University: 96
Northeastern University: 45
Purdue University: 10 : Biomed - 23, Aerospace - 4, Chemical - 14, Mechanical - 8, Electrical - 11, Civil - 6, Computer - 11, Industrial - 2
Rochester Institute of Technology: 56
Texas A&M University: 15 : Biomed - 33, Aerospace - 10, Chemical - 15, Mechanical - 12, Electrical - 14, Civil - 8, Petroleum - 1, Industrial - 13
University of Alabama – Tuscaloosa: 96
University of Arizona : 52
University of Central Florida: 81
University of Cincinnati: 86
University of Connecticut: 72
University of Iowa: 63
University of Kansas: 86
University of Nebraska – Lincoln 86
University of New Mexico: 96
University of Oklahoma: 96 : Petroleum - 3
University of South Carolina: 96