I think my D decided not to apply to UW to spare herself this debate! Personally, even if your parents can “easily” afford U of C, I think it’s a real question which is the best choice and the answer depends a lot on your personality, interests, aspirations, and attitude toward education. For what it’s worth, the UW alumns I know (non-biologists – and in different fields from each other) are smart, competent, well-educated, considerate, and friendly. (And they love movies – especially obscure movies, LOL!)
My D is not as sure about bio as you seem to be (strong interest in languages and lit, curious about linguistics and, to some extent, psych), so she probably could have won the argument (for Chicago, largely on Plan B grounds), but she’d have had to convince me.