Help me pick a college - SJSU or UCSC

Paying for College
1

I am going to be in the class of 2024 for computer science and was having a tough time picking between SJSU and UCSC. My parents can give around 15,000 a year and Im wondering where I should go.
SJSU - Would be living at home

2

List price for SJSU is around $9k for tuition and books plus a generous $12k for live-at-home-and commute costs for living with parents => $21k. Your actual costs may vary, and your parents may or may not let you live at home with no additional cost to you.
https://www.sjsu.edu/faso/docs/2021_COA_ugrd.pdf

List price for UCSC living on campus is about $15k tuition and books plus $23k for living and other expenses, or $37k total ($34k if you do not need campus health insurance). If you live at home and commute, the living and commuting expenses are estimated at $14k, for a total of $29k ($26k if you do not need campus health insurance). It is likely that commuting costs to UCSC will be much greater than for SJSU if you live close to SJSU but have to drive over the hill to UCSC. However, UCSC’s room and board cost for living with parents is lower than SJSU’s cost, even though it should be the same either way, so you have to adjust both to the actual cost.
https://financialaid.ucsc.edu/cost-to-attend/undergraduate-costs.html

But then the cost question becomes:

  • Do you have financial aid grants and/or scholarships at either or both? (If no grants or scholarships, it looks like you need to live at home and commute, and SJSU would be a more realistic choice in that case if you live near SJSU but have to drive over the hill to UCSC.)
  • Will your parents allow you to live at home at no additional cost to you? If not, what would the cost to you be?
  • What will the actual commuting costs to either school be like?

And a non-financial question:

  • Do you have direct admission to the CS major at both?