<p>I just finished reading all the posts…yes if the parents and the student want to crunch the numbers to see what their institutional aid might be…some families may not want to bother with that. The possibility exists that the private colleges might ascertain that what the parents should pay might be more than what they want to pay and the OP did say the budget was important to them. But an application or two to a very generous private if the student and the parents would consider the distance is not out of the realm of possibility. I was mostly responding to all the posts regarding college that are peers of many of the fine institutions in the midwest with strong math and science programs that are known merit aid for this family and also meet the request of being within a day’s drive. There’s no harm in sending a smart kid to a good school and keep to the budget and the desired distance.</p>