<p>@purpleTitan, I don’t think we will qualify for need-based. The problem with the Bay Area (and CA in general) is that salaries are higher, but so is cost of living! She has high stats including 34 on ACT and strong ECs, but I don’t have a feel for whether she has a chance at merit aid from UCs. I believe that even when they do give merit (for academics) it is only $2-7K (Regent’s and Chancellor’s scholarships) depending on the campus. But I could be wrong. I just wish we didn’t have to wait until March to hear from them. Technically she could commute to Cal. But she strongly wants the on-campus experience - which she can have, without debt, at Bama.We’ll see… :-)</p>