<p>This is a rare scenario where UC Berkeley is not an optimal choice.</p>
<p>I understand the whole dream of being a Berkeley student and all. Try to break down this dream into concrete terms. Instead of trusting feelings and emotion, be honest with yourself and think of real consequences of an undergraduate degree in Berkeley. Sure, it is probably a bit more prestigious to attend Berkeley. But remember, it is not about the school that you attend, it is about YOU. What you will do to a school matters more than what a school does for you. </p>
<p>To be an incredible mathematician requires this kind of derive. As an example do you think Newton would have cared to be in Berkeley or Washington? Probably not! No matter where he would attend, he would be brilliant and create new ideas. </p>
<p>After all, you should realize that Berkeley needs you more than you need Berkeley. That’s why they are offering you admission. The whole education system is only partially about learning. You should realize that universities are after more than just satisfying your needs and the needs of society. Universities are like corporations in a sense. They are after their own interest as well. Probably Berkeley is thinking that by bringing you to their campus, they can make a crap load of tuition money (that makes no sense anyway, why should it be THAT much more for out of state??) while you work hard to make their school name even better.</p>
<p>At this point instincts probably tell you that you belong to Berkeley. But it also evades your senses to look into the future. In just two years being 80k in debt is a huge financial devastation. Two years of “happy” education can cost you tens of years of suffering in debt.</p>
<p>Unless you are going to be a millionaire or a CEO or somehow with more than 100k a year in salary, you’ll more than regret putting yourself in that much pressure financially. And you do mention that you don’t even know what kind of job you are probably going to find with your degree. It makes absolutely no sense to assume you will be that rich that paying back 80k (probably with interest almost twice) will be easy. It’s almost the price of a house.</p>
<p>So, to conclude, here is my suggestion to you. Listen to your parents and most of responses to this thread. The right decision is to be debt free at the University of Washington. Work hard there, explore your options for graduate school, learn, and enjoy not being financially in a deep hole. Good luck.</p>