<p>Within the northeast, the State Universities of New York (SUNYs) are the cheapest to my knowledge. However, there is no guarantee they will continue to be. Many people have mentioned Binghampton. The other two that get the most attention are Stony Brook in Long Island and Genesco in the northwest. If you want to spend time in NYC, you might look for a location that is on a rail line to the city.</p>
<p>There also are many quality public universities that provide merit aid to top out of state students (such as U. Pittsburgh and U. Delaware), as well as a few that provide need aid to out of state (such as U. Virginia and U. Delaware).</p>