Reminder: Her father is a retired teacher and they came from Idaho. Odds are at least modestly high that some tuition benefits may have been available to him (and her) as a result of that.
As for a stint in Hawaii, school away from home is pricey. Maybe too much so.
It would be useful to know when she married, too. If she was not married until finished college, it’s pretty common for students to follow boyfriends or girlfriends to different schools.
Utterly typical and innocent stuff.
"Five" schools counts the University of Idaho twice. She started out in Hawaii for a semester, came back to the MUCH less expensive North Idaho College in Coeur d'Alene (about 40 miles south of Sandpoint, where she was born). That's a two-year school. Last June the NIC Alums named her the recipient of their 2008-2009 Distinguished Alumni of the Year Award. Transferred to the U of I in '84 to complete a 4-year degree in journalism. That was broken by a semester in Matanuska-Susitna College in Palmer, Alaska in fall 1985. Finished at the U of I in '87.
If there's anything there but a small-town girl trying to get the best education she could afford I'd love to know what. Nobody here (the U of I) remembers her, but that was over 20 years ago.