Hi!
So I was admitted to Rutgers and UC Santa Barbara. Now I already paid for Rutgers and everything, but my counselor was advising me that I should look at Santa Barbara more.
I would prefer a sunnier environment (I have seasonal depression) and I’m going to study neuroscience (though I’m probably going to switch my major to political science).
UC Santa Barbara is definitely my first choice but the problem is the tuition. It’s $58,000 per year compared to Rutgers which is $17,000.
I definitely felt more at home in Santa Barbara but I just don’t want to get into debt. Please let me know what you think! 
You really do not want to go into debt if you study neuroscience, since the major-related job and career prospects with that major are not very high paying (i.e. you will be in the general BA/BS job market at graduation).
Now, if your counselor will give you $164,000 for the extra cost (over four years) of UCSB over Rutgers, you may want to consider your counselor’s recommendation.
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Don’t go into debt. Santa Barbara is beautiful but not worth that. Move someplace sunny in four years. it will be much easier then without crippling student loans.
Coincidentally, many years ago I was faced with the choice of UCSB with debt or staying home and commuting to college with no debt. Chose commuting. Haven’t regretted it.
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Hello! Sorry for the late reply (I’ve been buried under AP work), but thank you all for your input!
I ended up deciding on Rutgers since I really didn’t want a bad credit score the moment I stepped out of college. 
Once again, thank you so much for your insight! It really helped me to solidify my choice!
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I love UCSB.
That being said, for an extra $41,000, it’s not worth it.
Seasonal depression? Fly out to Santa Barbara every month of school and stay the weekend. It will cost you $1,000 each time, and by the end of the year, you will still come out ahead by $33,000. Even if you went every weekend, you would still come out ahead by $8,000. This should show you how much the difference is.
Kind of joking, and kind of not.