I would try running the NPC for some of the reach schools she thinks she might like. With 7 kids, some of the “meet full need” schools might be cheaper than public schools.
S19 only applied to OOS schools. Alabama offered so much guaranteed merit for NMF that it would cost us more to send him to our in-state flagship. And he liked UA so much better that we didn’t see any reason to force him to apply instate. So he applied to 4 schools, all OOS public schools. They ranged from automatic full ride to chance at competitive scholarships. We did not take him anywhere for a serious visit that we knew we could not afford that also did not offer any possibility of real merit.