First and foremost, I 100% agree with the 'don't go out of state' sentiments - loans are an albatross and shoudl be avoided to the greatest degree possible. No one will care where your nursing degree came from - they will care that you got your CNA and maybe LPN and worked in the nursing field during your entire college career on top of earning your BSN. Source: my wife has her BSN and is now a director of a private clinic.
Re: paying for college, I shook the scholarship tree to death and ended up having enough scholarships to pay my entire 5 years of both tuition and rent. That said, I also chose an inexpensive in-state school with a very strong biology program and made it my mission to get into every organization I could to make connections.
My wife, on the other hand, had $35,000 in debt. Once I graduated, we buckled down and worked a TON, 7 days a week much of the time, kept living like broke college kids and paid that poo off as quickly as possible. We are now 31 and 33 and have been debt-free since 2008. I can not overstate the importance of minimizing debt and how great it feels to not owe anyone (other than Wells Fargo for our mortgage) a damn penny.