I live in Cambridge. I'd prefer to live in Chicago or California. I'm originally from Michigan, my family lives in Michigan, and my long-term goal is to be governor of Michigan. Along the way, I plan to go into corporate law then
Cost of Attendance (Only considering tuition):
Harvard: Gave me $23k/year in grants. COA is ~$114k.
Stanford: Gave me $48k/year in grants. COA is $30k.
Chicago: Gave me the Rubenstein (full tuition + stipend). COA is NEGATIVE ~$45k.
P.S. Forgive me if including Harvard is ridiculous. I firmly believe prestige doesn't matter for the usual legal careers, but since I'm interested in politics, I think lay prestige is a little more relevant.
Edit: I see the comment about me delaying marriage is controversial, but I've talked to Stanford's financial aid and was told that students have done this in the past. I only have to report my SO's income if we are legally married or intend to legally marry (in particular, if we file a joint tax return or my SO claims me on their taxes). I also have to report any money given to me by my partner (or anyone for that matter) and I plan to do that. It's no different than if I were to decide to live with my aunt while at Stanford and have her pay my living expenses. Stanford wouldn't expect me to report her income.