VT or Rutgers?

Accepted into both Rutgers and VT Engineering. Rutgers is only a 15 minute drive away, VT is around 7.5 hours. VT engineering is ranked a lot higher in terms of prestige, job outlook and potential, as well as has a lot of the features I’m looking for in a school. Convenience wise RU is the best fit for me. Costs of both programs are actually not that different, despite me being a NJ resident for Rutgers. Somehow did not get a dime for aid for Rutgers, and if dorming, would run me 46k (commuting = 29k). With loans, RU would be around 24 k if I commuted. However, dorming is something I feel should be pretty essential to a college experience. VT would be 43k (includes a 2k scholarship I received), and loans would bring this down to 37k. My parents have said that cost should not be as big of a deal to consider and they would be fine doing whatever they can, but I really want to take the future into account. Would it be worth having to spend more just to go to a better engineering school in VT?