Not that it matters, but I'm sort of confused as to what lower tier schools you applied to At every state school whose scholarship packages I'm familiar with (

Not that it matters, but I'm sort of confused as to what lower tier schools you applied to At every state school whose scholarship packages I'm familiar with (granted sample size of 3, plus antedotally maybe 5 or so more), an applicant with your SAT scores would have almost certainly been offered a full ride, probably with a stipend as well