Nope. You gave your opinion (to which you certainly are entitled) based primarily on emotion, in response to someone who has a concrete decision to make, with concrete facts that influence that decision. It is my opinion that yours is a foolish one, placing fisher at risk for making a terrible financial decision that will likely not result in him enjoying his PT school experience to any greater degree than he would at ECU.
I understand the allure of a prestigious PT school, on a beautiful campus in North Carolina. I was once in the same shoes that most who participate in this message board are in now. I went to a private school that was expensive at the time, had a quaint campus with it's own friggin' castle (Arcadia, in case anyone is wondering), and have been practicing for nearly 13 years. By the way, I have not lived an overly lavish life since graduation and am still paying off school debt. Immediately after graduation this was not a big deal, but as one builds a life, they tend to re-prioritize, and have a greater need for financial flexibility. For example, when my primary concern was beer money for Friday night, tickets to a Gear Daddies show (showing my age here), and paying rent for a small apartment, I had no difficulties. And, at that time I never thought once about 529 plans for college savings for my children (who were not yet born), a mortgage for a house in an incredibly expensive housing market (North Shore of Chicago), day care bills that are insanely expensive, etc. If I had, I might have considered going to a school that was considerably less expensive, to allow myself greater financial resources at a later stage in my life.
My purpose in many of the posts here is to provide a a different perspective, from someone who has been in a similar situation in the past, and made a poor financial decision, and continues to pay the price. Now, this is not intended to be a sob story. My wife and I are able to make a middle-class living in a great neighborhood, but we are still paying back school debt that prevents us from moving into the house we would like, take nice vacations more often that once every two to three years, and more importantly, it limits our ability to save for our children's college, to allow them to avoid the trap that college debt can become.
I can hear the frustration in your posts. I understand the desire to get out of NOVA. That place was awful for us, and we only lived there for two years. But, I think you are letting emotion rule your decisions. Certainly you are letting them limit your choice of schools to only the southern US, and you have intimated that you would gladly pay the insane tuition that Duke charges despite possibly having some good in-state options. That makes no sense in the long term. And, in the short term, while you may think you'll like the southern US better, you won't really be living there. You'll be attending school there. Trust me on this. There is a large difference.
Certainly the choice is yous to make, and my post may not sway you in any way, but my hope is that it will at least make you look at your options more objectively.