And I read about the busing to dorms and classrooms. Seems that there are pro’s and con’s (smaller classes and thus more faculty attention in the classes in SF; tighter bonds among the Cal students staying in some other college dorm).
Personally, I think it all comes down to norms. In other countries, even at prestigious unis that are in the top tier in their country, living with students from other colleges in an off-campus dorm far from classes is normal, commuting an hour on public transport to uni is normal, and commuting across a giant metropolis (because the classes and dorms are scattered across that metropolis) is normal. Yet those unis also turn out many alums that go on to be movers and shakers.
BTW, sending some freshmen abroad first is also something that some prestigious privates do.