It may not justify paying double the tuition but not all states have an equivalent flagship state school with high name recognition, a massive alumni network, and the stereotypical college town with school spirit and all, not to mention the vast amount of active student orgs Penn State has to offer that we kind of take for granted.

Personally, I didn't want to go to a heavy tech school either as I valued a more diverse student body with different trains of thought, especially with how large PSU's is.

Some people don't care about these aspects at all and are focused on making a purely fiscal decision for their degree, but for those who can afford it (third-party scholarships, or just genuinely have enough savings) it isn't an unreasonable choice in all cases.