<p>" if primary concern is low debt load, what’s wrong with his in-state flagship?" - Some in-state flagships just do not offer that much, they may offer such a small Merit award, that it is practically nothing. I am talking about my D’s experience, I do not have any other experiences. So Merit of $3k is NOT the same as Merit of $27k (per year). it goes back to the resources at different UGs, not so much the kid’s stats. It appeared to us, that some places (including in-state publics) have more of financially able alumni as all of the D’s awards that covered her full tuition were privately donated (about 10 of them, they were put together by college, it was no need to apply to them at all).</p>