Boston U, Mississippi State, or Auburn

[ReyMysterioso]

If you are in the South, I'd lean towards LSUS, MSU and Auburn over BU since one of your biggest motivators here is to go with a "name." Schools are ultimately regional beasts and brand value depends on people feeling like they have familiarity with the brand. BU isn't in the SEC and for better or worse, nobody down here pays attention to them. I have a undergrad and graduate degrees both from new England. Since I never lived there, and everyone I meet and work with in the South went to southern schools and mostly think of higher ed in terms of brick and mortar, this often leads to confusion.
"Oh does it get real cold in the winter up there?" "Iunno." "Wait. How much time did you actually spend in Connecticut?" "About 48 hours." ?

And yes... unfortunately some people still do get snobby about distance education.