To be thorough, you should look at the complete “cost of ownership” - beyond straight tuition: room and board, general cost of living (how much does stuff like food and books, etc. cost on each coast), cost to travel to/from East coast, etc. Also, the cost of having to spend an extra year at MIT: all of the above PLUS the opportunity cost of NOT being out in the work world for that year. If you’re going to be pragmatic, you really need to think about all of this. If you do, and the extra aid you wind up getting from MIT makes it a better bargain or a wash, why not MIT? Otherwise, Cal is a very, very good school for many STEM-related fields.
Also, I’m confused - are you saying you took community college courses in CA or at Cal? You are using the state and the school interchangeably, which is confusing.