<p>Where you think you will be happier and thrive is much more important than perceived prestige between these two essentially equal schools. I had one daughter go to a very good school in the Portland, OR area and my younger daughter is at UCLA right now and is about to graduate. Weather can really affect your moods and my older daughter had many friends negatively affected by the grey Portlandweather. Berkeley is not as grey as that but I live in the Bay Area and Nov-March can be cool and rainy. LA is sunny “most” of the time. This should not be the reason you choose between two schools but when the schools are so close academically and in reputation I think going where you think you will be happier, more productive, more motivated, and will likely thrive is very important.</p>