Is it always worth it to go to the best school?

OP did your daughter consider Univ of Rochester? Very few schools have an undergraduate epidemiology program/major. Rochester does. Most schools just have a public health major. Also Rochester is generous with financial aid even for those who otherwise consider themselves full pay. They are generous with arts scholarships or other forms of aid.

For example my daughter was an epidemiology major at Rochester. She had similar statistics to your daughter (4.4 wGPA with 30 ACT, 32 superscored). We also were full pay but my daughter received a $15,000 a year scholarship (she was a dancer).