I have the same dilemma. My top choices are both UC schools. I was accepted at both, but the funding amounts are appalling low. Living in an expensive city on $1500 sounds impossibly hard, even with all the frugal living tips others have offered. I made do with close to that in Boston, but there I didn't need a car.
Otherworlder, I spent very, very little in undergrad too. Maybe it's because I've since spent time outside of school, but going back to sharing a crappy bedroom and wearing thrift store clothes for another 5 years is much less appealing now, and will be even more so toward the end of grad school when looking for a job, being expected to look professional, etc. If that's the price you pay for being in academia, it's certainly a higher price in CA.
Meh.. I too would avoid UC schools but in my subfield they really are the best option. My alternative is a top-10-ranked-but-not-specialized school in an inexpensive town in what feels to me like the middle of nowhere.
