<p>To the OP</p>
<p>Really, it just depends upon what environment your daughter prefers. You won’t need to discourage her from the UCs. She’ll likely make that determination on her own depending upon whether she likes a big campus and a big student population or not. Of course, visiting schools really helps you get a bit of a feel for the environment. </p>
<p>If she does decide she likes those schools, I wouldn’t worry about it too much. My daughter had a grand old time at a UC and completed a double major in 4 years, completed two undergraduate theses (one in each department), had great relationships with professors who later wrote recommendation letters for grad school. Truly, she loves her alma mater and loved her whole college experience.</p>
<p>I would think that the size of the schools might be daunting for someone who needs more guidance or is less of a self-starter. Still, I found that it fostered a tremendous amount of learned-independence. Right after graduating she got a job and an apartment and was completely self-supporting.</p>