UR is academically very challenging for top students. The professors/advisors and the career center at UR are top notch.
2 of my kids were Richmond Scholars (we won the lottery twice!!), and were both science majors. One is already in
A PhD program and one is starting her PhD program at Johns Hopkins in the fall (corinavirus permitting…)
They were both extremely well prepared and competetive for graduate school programs and loved their time at UR.
They both started lab research as freshmen, had great internships, traveled abroad (completely paid for by scholarship, with extra funding for travel and enrichment activities), participated in the Sophomore Scholars in Residence program (no cost to students), participated in fun club and service activities, and had wonderful friends.
Richmond is a fun city, too, with lots of great food, festivals, parks, museums, and outdoor activities. It also has a decent airport and 2 amtrak stops, so travel is fairly easy. Our whole family really enjoyed our many visits to the area!
UR is a top 25 LAC, @samalek, and has a lot of top students. Your D would certainly be challenged academically at UR. Whether or not the extra $$ needed for the CA colleges would be a burden (what is difference in cost? $40k per year?) UR for zero $ seems like a no brainer to me!
UR would be an excellent choice for your D. We were blown away by all of wonderful opportunities that our kids experienced as Richmond Scholars.