For a student with such well-developed interests, I definitely agree with looking at specific faculty and research entities at the schools that interest her. No matter how brilliant the student, they can only make so many commitments; you don’t need a school with 35 different research opportunities of interest. But you do need one, and maybe a couple of backups.
I also feel as if you could benefit from working with a financial advisor who can help to clarify where you really stand in terms of educational costs, retirement savings, etc.
However, even if you determine that you could spend more, spending less is always good, especially if you can meet the same goals at less expense.
And here’s the thing about the UC’s - the payoff is greater in the upper-division years. Suppose this student decides that the Lehigh scholarship is too good to pass up. Maybe she loves it, finds all the opportunities she wants and needs, graduates debt-free and continues on to a top grad program. Great! But if the experience isn’t everything she hoped for, she hasn’t made an irreversible decision - as long as she continues to distinguish herself as she has been, she should be well-positioned to transfer into a top UC program as a junior, essentially cutting the cost of a UC degree in half.
It’s still a significant commitment, and I still think she should visit before making the decision, in addition to doing a deeper dive into the research opportunities. But she needn’t feel as if she’s getting on a one-way train. The burden will be on Lehigh to give her the opportunities that will keep her there for four years.