From what I can tell in Maryland, there are quite a few state universities which offer quality education, may not have the private school perks nor the name. They are known as “commuter” schools. The funny thing is once they become better known (e.g., UMBC), they need to build dorms for OOS students.
On the flip side, if a university has the academic quality and reputation comparable to UCLA and USC, why wouldn’t they be charging a higher price? I thought I read somewhere that some private schools tried that business model and it didn’t work. People actually wanted the high tuition/high discount model - the high tuition signaled a good college (?) while the high discount (scholarship) meant their child was a good student (?).