Thank you guys for your input.
mamenyu, that's what I heard about UCs (particularly, Berkeley) - the constant struggle and crazy competition for "impacted" (or just "practical"
) majors and much less intense, more relaxed and nurturing environment for "impractical" arts and humanities majors.
As an overprotective parent
, I'd like to have my baby as close to home as possible (and that part of my heart votes for Berkeley), as a frugal parent I'd like to find a bargain (which points in the direction of Berkeley, too), but I'd also like her to have the best college experience possible and the best future opportunities. Knowing that, on average, the latter is easier achieved in Princeton than in Berkeley (and many Californian kids actually consider going to Berkely "uncool" and being some kind of "sacrifice"
), I wonder how much does it really apply to my D's case, who has untypical ("impractical") interests. Would going to more far-away and expensive school really worth the hassle for her?