Go to a state university in the Midwest. Much cheaper tuition and cost of living, and in the end you will get the same degree. Also these big universities have very diverse populations and are usually in really pleasant towns or small cities where it's easy to make friends.

Look at Iowa, Indiana, Ohio, Illinois, Wisconsin, Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska. Do NOT look at private schools. I lived in Boston before graduate school, but I went to the Midwest and got a great education, moved back here and have had a good career. I came out with minimal loans, long ago paid off.