Look instate, look OOS, look in Florida. You’ll be surprised that your daughter may want to go locally or instate when all her friends are doing that. Florida, to her, is a vacation. When you really live there it is hot, it has a lot of bugs and critters, other people are on vacation and you are working (or studying) and it isn’t as much fun as you originally thought. Pretty much same as anywhere, there are good things and bad. You have to deal with the DMV, you have to worry about hurricanes, you get to go to the beach where many of those vacationers take your spot, you won’t shovel snow but may have to clean up palm frons and watch out for gators and snakes.
One thing to think about is if you have no extra money now to put away for college, you probably won’t have any extra money to pay a student loan or parent plus loan. If you have $100, put it away now, sort of like continuing to pay for child care after your kid starts school, to have for summer camps and sports teams. Even if it is $25, start putting it away now.
Most students for the big scholarships take the ACT a MINIMUM of twice, but often three times
(it’s recommended to stop at 4 though! 
Some overachieving parents have their kids start in 7th and 8th grade to “train” them when it doesn’t count at all… so that they can then take 3 tests sophomore and junior year and the previous tests taken in middle school don’t appear anywhere and it looks like the “only took it three times”.)
Most students do better on the second test. For the 3rd take, it varies, some don’t move much. Or it stays the same from first to second, then it increases for the third. But as long as she scores better on some sections, it helps for colleges that superscore. (Not all superscore - those that don’t will specify “single sitting” for their scores).
Indeed, often, the scores change per section and some universities “superscore”, so that, if you submit 3 test scores and one is E34, M27, R28, S22; then E32, M30, R27, S25; and finally E30, M31, R34, S22… the university that superscores would count E34, M31, R34, S25. First sitting=28; second= 29 (pretty typical progress); third: 29. But superscore = 31. So, even that third sitting, which doesn’t seem to move the needle, actually ups her superscore, so that, by focusing on the sections where she is likely to gain the most points, she can really make a difference.
@momof2inwi “She still wants warm…”
I recommend a trip to Pensacola in August. The cloying humidity will give her a dose of reality. It’s like trying to breathe through a wet washcloth. Alabama, SC, NC etc. have mild winters and tolerable summers. She can easily research the climates of potential schools. We set up iPhone weather reports on all my son’s schools to see how bad the winters are.
@momof2inwi - I paid $2200 in interest on the Parent Plus loan in 2015 and was able to deduct on taxes - $2500 max is deductible. But that was really just on one loan, not on the amount I borrowed for this year. Just take the loan balance x interest rate. In 2016, I am looking at $48,000 x 7% (average rate between the 2 loans) = $3360.
@OspreyCV22
I totally get what you are saying about being in vacation mode vs work/college and there could be something to that, but she definitely likes it hot. She is just one of those people. We have been in September, Jan, May and Nov and she prefers September.
@rockvillemom
Thank you for the info, that’s a big help, it’s more than I actually thought, so now I’ll have a better idea.
Thanks for the correction, @NUwildcat92 . Sorry about the wrong info earlier… pretty sure I remember seeing a listing of auto full tuition at KU and Mizzou with a 32 0 but apparently not the case.
Again, “meet full need” is not need above the fafsa efc. Example: fafsa could list their efc for you at 25k and the college could calculate your portion at 30. And depending on the school’s policies, they might include student loans in their “aid.” Some non meet need schools can gap you considerably.
You’ve got to run an NPC to see it. Pick any college and run it. We can then walk you thru the results. The rest is premature and confusing, esp when you don’t even have the first scores.
Don’t miss the forest for the trees.
@lookingforward
I do understand what you are saying. I’m not sure in what post I sounded confused about EFC “again” but I’m pretty sure I understand how it works since running the npc’s. But I could have misspoke.
@lookingforward
Sorry, that last post sounded curt, I’m just saying I do think I’m getting it after running some npc’s.
Thank you
I understood. Glad you’re getting your feet wet.