<p>Brown.</p>
<p>First of all, you said you want to go into international relations. That is probably Brown’s biggest strength, along with many other fields in the humanities and social sciences. The undergraduate focus of Brown is great, and the overall experience will be amazing. Also, Brown was ranked #1 for happiest students, which is the most important thing at the end of the day.</p>
<p>Second of all, you said that although saving money is a plus, your parents can and willingly will pay for it. Considering that situation, I think for what you get at Brown, it is a better value than what you will get at Cal. Besides, like silliconvalleymom said, Cal’s tuition will certainly go up in the next four years.</p>
<p>Finally, while Cal is probably the best state school in the country, there are still a lot of disadvantages in going to a state school that you won’t have to worry about at Brown. Cal is huge, which can be a problem socially. Moreover, it is very difficult to get into classes, student services are less efficient since it is so big, and it will be harder to get one-on-one focus from professors. </p>
<p>While there is nothing I can say about the staying close to home, you have to give a little to get a little (or a lot, in this case). I’d go with Brown.</p>