So to put it in perspective I got accepted into my top local state college Umass Amherst and my perceived debt after college is basically nothing(this includes housing). Now some of the private colleges like Boston University, Northeastern, Syracuse University which I know are ranked higher then UMass Amherst I got accepted into but my perceived debt is like 20k. Now I use to be this failure high school and CC student and so 5 years later any of these schools would be a major accomplishment for me. The private colleges even more so. How do I chose between the school I really want to go to versus the school thats still solid but cheaper?

If it matters I'm studying computer engineering.