Yeah, my parents basically told me that I shouldn’t apply to any safeties and that I should just shotgun T10 schools for CS (not for financial reasons, however). I obviously know that only shotgunning super reaches is a horrible idea, so I’ve gotten some security by applying to Pitt and Penn State. Other full-need-met private schools appear to cost around the same as those two.
After running the NPCs, the super reaches do turn out to be comparably cheaper (Harvard and Stanford would both be under $20K, for example); the only problem is getting in.