Yes, yes, yes. This is how I see it. For my dd's talents and passions, (not mathy/computery) I think she will for sure be attending college--but I do think that she could find intellectual peers at a state school even if it might require a little more effort.
I hope she does. There is wide variation in the selectivity of state schools. UC Berkeley attracts students who are as good Stanford's best but who were rejected for non-academic reasons or who wanted to save money. I don't think many of the very best students are found in a less-prestigious UC school such as
UC Davis. Nowadays admission to flagship state schools has become more competitive. I have written a lot about Ivy admissions, but getting in has such a lottery aspect that no student or parent should count on it. Not getting into the flagship state school I consider a real loss, however.
