I think your analysis is mostly correct, but it leaves out the option of really hustling for scholarship money.

My good friend from high school was in a position of not being able to afford our flagship state school, even though he got accepted.

He basically made it his full time job to scour all of the scholarship websites and apply to everything he was even minimally eligible for. He was constantly writing, or altering essays to fit a particular scholarship prompt.

All in all, he was able to afford school and has since graduated and become a pharmacist.

Like in a lot of things, hard work and hustle pays off.