UIUC is on the list simply because both my husband and I attended there (my sister and most of our friends as well).
All the info is valuable. My son has a lot to think about. He is a junior but is leaving/graduating after next year. That is why he lacks of ECs. He only decided to graduate in MAY and pulled off ACT and 2 SAT subject tests since then. He has to double up his English next year and a few APs. He should make NMSF per his GC.
Either way, we fully support his decision. Financially we would like to keep it under 50k per year.