We visited U of Denver with my DS and he was accepted and got some merit aid. He chose to go elsewhere but we both really liked the school.
It met a lot of his criteria (in a city, small ish, good study abroad, nice campus). And it seems fun - skiing, hockey etc.
Tell us your kids' stats and we can help with other similar schools.
Other schools my DS applied to included Miami, NYU, Tulane, Northwestern, Emory, U of Charleston.