<p>If you have $20 K to spend, a SUNY is definitely doable. Ther is a variety of them, from a rural ivy-covered liberal arts college where a kid from our HS goes – he was waitlisted at Princeton, so it tells you what a good school it is. There are also huge modern research universities. It is a good option, or actually, several options. They run the gamut in stats, too. OP many kids want to go far from home (in other words, to go away) but in New York, you can go to a SUNY five or more hours from home! Once you are “away” you are away. Really. Don’t let the out of state thing lead you to a more expensive route if you are looking at comparable schools in state.</p>