UC Berkeley vs. Vassar

$30Kx4 is a lot of money. If you do, in fact, have that much money to spend, I would encourage you to at least go through a “thought exercise” re: what that money represents in terms of other opportunities forfeited. If you went to Berkeley and had a $120K budget for additional enrichment opportunities (i.e. in the summers and in the 1-2 years after graduation), what could you do? Do you value the difference between Vassar and Berkeley more than the most amazing plan you can think of for spending that additional money as a Berkeley student?

(I don’t mean that as a rhetorical question. Maybe you do value Vassar that much. It’s just a suggested way or wrapping your head around a sum of money that is likely quite abstract to you.)

Good luck with a tough decision!!