Way too much emphasis is put on national perception and recognition. If employers don’t care, neither should we. But that would challenge my own most cherished perception: there is no more competitive being on the planet than the American parent.
Anyway, the Wisconsin directionals might not be deemed worthy by some, including the OP, but they check a lot of the OP’s criteria.
The schools you listed are pretty large (CU, U of W) so assume that’s what you are looking for. You might also look at the midwest (plenty cold enough for you!) in Nebraska and Iowa. Each have some strengths. Iowa has a wonderful writing program. If you still want to move west, look at Montana/Mont. State and Idaho.
SUNY Binghamton is a top 10 Best Value school.
McGill in Canada may fit the bill, tuition around $25000 I believe, and does stats based admission mostly based on GPA, different standards for what you want to study; it’s all spelled out on the website.
Boise State - Meets your PNW goals, and Boise is a decent sized city with an outdoorsy feel. It looks like you would qualify for merit aid that might bring your COA close to 25K a year. Your 3.5 gpa could possibly get you into the Honors College, too. The Honors College has new, suite-style dorms where you could have your own bedroom (and the bedrooms have double beds!). I’ve got family members with kids at Boise State and they love it there…lots of school spirit. Boise Intl Airport should be fairly easy to get to from New Jersey.
Info on Merit:
https://financialaid.boisestate.edu/scholarships/non-resident-tuition-assistance-programs/
Info on Honors:
https://honors.boisestate.edu/
Honors Housing Info:
https://honors.boisestate.edu/housing/
Look at University of New Mexico’s Amigo scholarship. It is automatic as long as funds are available. It will let you attend at the in state price, which last time I looked was under 20k per year. You would apply no later than Aug/Sep before your senior year.
Your GPA is already in range and the required ACT score should be attainable. You would probably be invited to join the Honors College.
Albuquerque’s elevation is 5312 so it is a temperate climate. They average 13" of snow each winter.
I can’t say that it’s “better” than your home state schools but it will be different. Regardless of “elite” status, it has a recognizable name if that’s important to you.
I second Truman State as a school that meets all three criteria of being OOS, cheap (total direct costs below $25K for OOS) and good (75th percentile ACT the same as UW-Seattle, UW-Madison, and TCNJ, and higher than Trinity College in CT).
Any reason why your parents cannot continue to fund the college savings account while you are in college (they have 4 years) Also, UW Seattle has the OOS purple and gold scholarships up to 36k merit. Lastly, can you work during college and/or summers to help with the cost of attendance? Maybe you only have to take out a relatively small loan if the above is possible?
My D decided on Rowan. That was not definitely not the original plan but it will enable her to graduate debt free.
When we visited in the honors accepted student day, we met many families with accomplished kids who toured colleges all over the country but decided on Rowan because of the honors college, small classes, beautiful facilities, and cost.
It would be a great safety.
If you are looking oos and have a limited budget, remember to factor in travel and health insurance costs. Many plans do not cover oos providers these days and it can add a couple thousand to your bill.
The SAT will tell the rest of the story. If you can get a good score on your SAT/ACT, then you’re a good fit for Michigan State. Another school you can try is Texas A&M, but expect miserably hot summers. If you ace your SAT, you could get a good university guaranteed scholarship at Alabama, which would allow you to basically graduate debt free.