Wisconsin Madison Vs Purdue University Mech engr

Intangibles matter- not just “so much for our money”. Two very different campuses to choose from. If money doesn’t matter that factor needs to be considered. Different personalities prefer different settings.

Cost of attendance does matter to most people.

If finances do not dictate choices more/less money spent does not determine the best choice.

Exactly. For those who do not hail from Wisconsin or Minnesota, higher ranked engineering schools which also offer more in merit aid and less of a bottleneck in offering required prerequisites would be a better choice if total cost of degree were an issue.