^ Yes, those are good points. Now, the OOS publics offering a lot of merit aid won’t necessarily include the “public Ivies” on the OP’s list in post #15. Michigan’s average merit award is about $6K; UVa’s is about $7K. How many OOS students get non-athletic merit awards from those schools big enough to bring the net prices down to UC in-state levels?
The OP would qualify for the Presidential scholarship at Alabama, which covers full tuition (http://scholarships.ua.edu/types/out-of-state.html). Depending on his family financial circumstances, he still might wind up with a lower (or competitive) net cost from a UC or from a selective private school.
Run the online net price calculators for any school that interests you. Especially if cost is a big concern, do consider a variety of college types (in state public, OOS publics that offer generous merit scholarships, private schools that claim to cover full demonstrated need, etc.)
http://automaticfulltuition.yolasite.com/
http://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/paying-for-college/articles/2015/09/14/colleges-that-report-meeting-full-financial-need