Northeastern is certainly not worth the additional 30K. Since you are from CA, I would lean toward UCSB but I see the attraction to Rutgers Honors College and the new facilities are beautiful, though I wouldn’t necessarily base my decision on that. Both have their issues; UC with overcrowding and larger class sizes, though my understanding is they do a good job with T/A break out sessions. Rutgers’ campus is very spread out and of course far for you to visit. Nice benefit is it’s a quick train ride to NYC! Does your daughter want to go that far away? I would recommend visiting for admitted students day.