To me, the pertinent question is whether a full-need-met private LAC (which, all things being equal, is the most advantageous environment for a premed undergraduate) would end up costing more or less than a UC. Your stats aren’t competitive for the very most selective private colleges, but there are several full-need-met schools where you’d be a strong candidate. Whitman is a test-optional, full-need met school that would be a good test case: https://npc.collegeboard.org/student/app/whitman Pitzer, in SoCal is also test-optional and meets full need. Occidental meets full need but isn’t test-optional. On the other side of the country, College of the Holy Cross (MA) is test-optional, and not only meets full need but offers no-loan aid to low-income students. Also a fantastic place to go premed, with a 75% med school acceptance rate - more than double the med school acceptance rate of UCSD, even though the stats of UCSD’s entering class are higher. Run the numbers for your family’s particular financial situation and see whether in-state is really better than a full-need-met private, or no.