<p>Certainly in a state like NC, with a flagship state U that is very desirable, the focus of many top students is only on “how do I get admitted to Chapel Hill” and they’re not necessarily looking beyond that. Even though many could do very well financially at other schools, as momofthreeboys said, if you’re in NC, you know what you need to do. At D’s private school, some 70-75% of kids every year go to NC state-funded universities, and that’s because (at least for now) the state U’s are great values.</p>