This is an interesting thread but the choice has been made and we should support OP and hope for the best for her and her family. My sense is that OP’s father will do what he has to do to pay for Berkeley (or perhaps family on the father’s side will be helping fund OP’s education). To him it is worth it because he is obsessed with prestige and Berkeley’s name is big in China (even if others consider the two schools to be comparable). So OP is being forced to attend her 2nd choice…but Berkeley is still a great school and it may ultimately prove to be the best choice. OP’s gut was saying UVA but that doesn’t mean she won’t still have a phenomenal experience at Berkeley. And it sounds like OP understands that she will be getting a great education, whether she were at UVA or Berkeley.
Too many people act like a particular school is perfect or that school x is clearly inferior to school y. In this case, OP’s father is doing that very thing. He’s inflating the qualitative difference between the two schools. Ultimately, however, OP’s father has the financial hammer and OP is being very smart, IMO, going along with her father since (1) UCB is a great school, (2) her father will presumably pay for all or most of the education, and (3) her decision should help family harmony. In a perfect world, OP’s father would have listened to her daughter and OP’s wishes would have counted for more…but its not a perfect world, so we can only hope that OP takes advantage of her opportunities at UCB. Good luck to you and your family.
Good luck, richmond22, we will be rooting for you! I’m hoping that getting away from home will be the best thing for you.