I don’t see how the state resident discount is relevant at all. Virtually all colleges charge various net prices for various reasons. Carnegie Mellon has a bagpipe scholarship. One of the Loyolas has a scholarship for Catholic students named “Zolp” (https://www.thebestcolleges.org/weird-scholarships/).
Are we trying to come up with reasons to feel better for choosing Berkeley by devaluing Cornell?
No need. They are peer schools regardless. Certainly close enough that a $160K price advantage is sufficient reason to choose one over the other.