Couple things here. You can come back to work if you want NY/NJ pay...don't have to stay down there for the rest of your life. But there are some great places to spend four years getting a great education. Almost every school is less diverse than Rutgers...but Rutgers does not represent the US or even NJ population in terms of its student body. There are tons of NJ kids at most of the SE schools. I think it can make a ton of sense. Visit some of these campuses and you will see what entices the NE kids. Campuses are beautiful, weather is great, sports are huge, education is great. I love RU...but I can certainly see what's so enticing.
It hasn't even snowed here yet. RU is about to go the tournament for the 3rd year in a row and previously took down Clemson twice as well as Wake Forest. Other than rebuilding football we're pretty good at everything.
Rutgers is a top 20 public school. Other than UNC, UF and UGA, all of which admit very few OOS students, you're not going to find that in the south.
Rutgers is actually very representative of the 18-21 demographic in NJ. In my personal experience, many of the people who leave are trying to avoid that fact.
If people have money to throw around on lesser colleges I would tell the kid go to Rutgers and put the money in a high yield savings and take it out for a down payment when they finish.