Hi I’ve been very lucky to be accepted to both of these schools, but I was wondering if it was worth it to choose UCLA OOS (from Chicago) and fight for California residency over going to Northwestern (~30k a year). I want to study pre-med, and I’m majoring in Chem at NU and biochem at UCLA. I know like the obvious choice seems like NU, but I just love UCLA too much after visiting this weekend and I can’t see myself anywhere else. Can someone please slap some sense into me or convince me that going for residency is worth risking the crippling debt? Thanks <3
If you start at UCLA as a Freshman as an OOS student, you will be paying OOS tuition for all 4 years. Only way to get CA residency would be if your family moved to CA with you. Go to Northwestern, save the money and move to California for a job.
If you’re paying $100k more for UCLA, then no – especially if you aspire to get into, and then are awarded the privilege of paying for, med school.
I think Northwestern is the better choice, from an academics and cost standpoint, but fit makes it an interesting dilemma.
Graduate students can get in-state residency at UCLA pretty easily after a year of school, but as @Gumbymom said, it is highly unlikely for an undergrad to be eligible for in-state tuition without your family uprooting to California.
I have taught at UCLA for nearly a decade, first as a TA and then as a lecturer. UCLA is a sink-or-swim school for those majoring in the life sciences. While many organismal biology courses (e.g. ichthyology) max out at a dozen or so students, the popular biochemistry and molecular biology courses have dozens or hundreds of students. Obtaining a research position is a competitive process, and grading curves in STEM courses are often brutal. I have dealt with entirely too many pre-meds stressed out to the breaking point; it really is just not as happy and healthy an environment for pre-meds as many thought it would be.
Northwestern is a terrific school and sounds much more affordable. Go there, do well, and aim for sunny California for med school. If you really dislike Northwestern after a year, consider USC as a transfer option with many of the same qualities as UCLA and good financial aid.
I’ll be happy to do that 
The maximum you can take out in student loans for a 4 year degree is $27k. The rest has to either be paid for by your parents or co-signed private loans. If you have to co-sign a student loan for any reason, you can’t afford the school. If you’re going to CA for the purpose of school, in-state tuition is not going to happen.
Medical schools get applications from a wide variety of people who went to a wide variety of colleges. They’re interested in grades and MCAT scores. The only preference they give is to in-state applicants if it’s a state medical school. Also, getting loans to fully pay for medical school can be tricky. Fully funding it often requires private loans. If you have $100k in undergraduate loans, you could be declined and that would SUCK like a Dyson Vacuum.
I recommend staying in-state. You’re far better off.
You were there just for a visit. It’s fine to use your visit to decide on a tie breaker but not when one school is 120k more. College visits are just snapshots and often not representative of what it’s going to be like the next 4 years. Did you attend any of huge premed classes at UCLA? Did you try to sign up for one of the classes with waiting list? Did you go through any of the red tape more often seen in much larger schools? I took couple extension classes there and found the facility and upkeep not as nice as Northwestern. Also the premed placement perventsge is in the 50s at UCLA whereas the number was around 80 according to the viewbook few years ago (though the new one doesn’t have that stats anymore so you may want to ask NU if that matters).