I would suggest investigating what opportunities exist at the lower ranked school that support a strong student to thrive in their chosen interests. Our ds considered 2 schools that offered him full-ride merit money; a third which offered full-tuition, he completely eliminated from his list.
His decisions were based on tangible differences in support offered for helping him achieve his personal goals. The eliminated school mentioned a token student who had achieved high levels of success and shared his profile. When ds inquired where other recent dept undergrads had gone to grad school, the undergrad advisor and the dean (both present at the meeting) could not answer the question. When he asked about undergrad research, the undergrad advisor stated that all of the professors were busy and most had no time to take on an undergrad student. The attitude in that meeting was very dismissive of Ds’s goals and already existing achievements. That interview told ds exactly what he needed to know. It did not matter that the school was ranked higher than the other 2 schools. All that mattered was that that dept was not offering him what he wanted and needed. It was obviously not a dept focused on its undergrads. They didn’t seem to know their undergrads (and it was a small dept!) nor did they seem to offer the support to top grad schools. And they were very dismissive toward undergrad research (his personal #1 criteria.)
He ended up choosing his school bc of an experience similar to the one posted in this thread:
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-alabama/1789529-a-visit-to-the-university-of-alabama-cbh-and-honors-college.html#latest
He was invited to join research as a freshman. He has a research fellowship this summer. CBH exists to support high achieving students. Those supports are real and the outcomes tangible. The students involved do not feel like they “settled” for something less. They are valued for the talents they possess and are encouraged to high levels of achievement. Scrolling through this list gives an idea of just some of the undergrad research these kids are participating in https://live.cbhp.ua.edu/schedule.php
There isn’t a single answer. I believe that the one school I described would have been an incredibly poor decision. UA, otoh, has offered him exactly what he hoped to find in an undergrad program. He has not been disappointed!