Obviously, this is a very personal issue and based on your family’s own financial situation. I’m at Stanford Law School now, and anecdotally, I think Berkeley and UCLA are probably the most common undergrads represented. USC, Stanford, and the Ivies are also pretty common. I’m not sure I know anyone who went to a CSU. That’s not to say everyone went to a fancy undergrad, and of course, there’s a correlation issue here. I don’t have any particular insider knowledge on admissions, but I have heard from a professor involved in the faculty review portion of the admissions process that they do pay attention to what undergrad people went to.
For me, I think I was motivated by other high-achieving students in undergrad. I didn’t go to the world’s most prestigious undergrad, but coming from a mediocre public high school, I think it was absolutely worth it to be surrounded by other sharp, ambitious students. It helped me gain a better understanding of what careers were out there and how people got into them.
I wonder if it would be possible to apply to some private schools with strong financial aid programs? Also, it seems like a big piece of the cost here is the cost of moving away from home. Maybe it’s worth also considering the potential benefits of living away from home.
Anyway, like I said, I’m not saying I have the right answer for your family’s situation. But for me, I don’t know if I would be where I am now if I had lived at home and gone to the local CSU. It’s unfortunate that the cost of public universities is so high.