<p>Similar to UCB and UCLA but less selective? That’s easy. Apply to some of the other UCs.</p>
<p>The LACs many people are recommending are excellent schools but very different from UCB and UCLA.
They will not have anywhere near the course selection in neuroscience. They may not have many courses at all (and no major or minor programs) in Italian. Some of them are more selective, not less, than UCLA or Berkeley. They’ll have much higher sticker prices. </p>
<p>Now, maybe I’ve misunderstood your situation and interests. You say your family income is “> $100,000”. If it is just barely above that, then you might get quite a bit of need-based aid from many of the schools suggested above (maybe even enough to make the net costs competitive with UC levels). If you care more about a collaborative environment (or small class sizes) than specific course offerings, then you might prefer a LAC to the UCs. </p>
<p>Usually, though, people don’t look to top 20 private universities and LACs as back-ups to Berkeley and UCLA. Amherst, Pomona, Rice, UChicago, Northwestern, Vanderbilt, and Cornell all have higher average test scores and lower admit rates than Berkeley or UCLA. </p>
<p>Barnard does have slightly lower test scores than Berkeley. Its admit rate is about equal to UCLA’s. You say you like NYC; Barnard is right there. It offers all the course selection and other resources of Columbia University. </p>