re: Are out of state colleges worth it?

As others have said, it depends. It depends on where you live and which out-of-state college you'd go to.

For example:

Live in Louisiana, and go to Ole Miss, Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia, South Carolina....no. You just wasted a shite ton of money.

Live in Louisiana, and go to public: Michigan, UCLA, Virginia or private: Georgetown, Brown, Notre Dame, Chicago, Stanford, MIT, yeah, it's probably worth it.