<p>Thanks for the suggestions, everyone. Regarding financial aid, I was under the (perhaps mistaken) impression that most of the schools I am looking into pledge to meet your financial need (I know that NYU and UC-Berkeley won’t, but I was thinking the others generally would). My parents are divorced, and my custodial parent is my father, who makes about $50,000/year. Will Berkeley not give much financial aid even for an income that’s barely equal to the total cost of tuition, room and board for the year?</p>