<p>ripemango,</p>
<p>I apologize if you found my question offensive. I can think of all kind of things that * might be * a draw; but I just wanted to know if you could articulate what the draw is to you. Particularly since you know that your parents are worried about whether they can afford it. Seems to me that you can do that, and quite well, I might add! 
</p>
<p>
This is silly. Caltech is most certainly a brand name university.</p>
<p>Note: as you’ve previously posted, brand name universities are well respected as well as known. In fact, I’d add they are well respected both in and outside of academia. And folks lucky enough to get into them and who can afford them should rightfully be thankful for the opportunities they can provide. My only quibble with your previous post is that you seem to believe that non-name brand universities are automatically inferior for all students.</p>