@ProfessorPlum168 , I believe I opened the Massachusetts can-of-worms, lol. The point I was trying to make there was that IF OP is in a financial category such that the only way he can graduate from college debt-free is to attend a full-need-met school that will give him a no-loan financial aid package, the California schools in that category are excruciatingly difficult to get into (i.e. Stanford and Pomona). (I did suggest Occidental and Pitzer at test-optional, full-need-met schools, as well as Whitman which is at least on the West Coast, but these aren’t no-loan schools.) Holy Cross and Wesleyan are the two test-optional+full-need-met+no-loan schools, so I was putting that out there in case such a school might be worth traveling for. But this is utterly hypothetical without feedback from OP about what the Net Price Calculators for full-need-met private LAC’s show. I was merely inferring that the best possible financial aid might be the top priority, given that OP mentioned needing to save money as well as foregoing AP tests because of their cost.
Likewise, @evergreen5 , it depends entirely on OP’s financial situation whether WUE should come into the picture. If his Expected Family Contribution is under 30K or so, then he’ll need to either stay in-state where he’s eligible for state-administered financial aid, or aim for an excellent financial aid package at a private college/U. (Or go for big automatic merit, but that would require a higher SAT/ACT score.) For families with EFC’s above $30K, WUE schools can indeed end up being the best financial value for a high-quality education, especially for students who need slightly more forgiving admissions than the UC system can offer them.
There’s basically no point in debating unless/until OP returns to clarify what his financial aid eligibility looks like.