Crying about finances… need honest advice

I’m a transfer student trying to decide if it’s worth paying out-of-state tuition to attend UCLA for a Political Science BA, or if it would be smarter financially to attend a cheaper UC, establish residency because the system flagged me as non-resident even when I do live CA and attended transferring from a cc, or should I just wait and apply later for graduate school/possibly a PhD or law school.

I genuinely love UCLA academically, but the cost is making me panic. I come from a low-income background, and taking on massive debt scares me. Housing prices also worry me a lot.

For people who studied Political Science (or humanities in general):

• Was UCLA worth the debt?
• Did the prestige/helpful connections actually matter long term?
• If you could do it again, would you choose a cheaper school for undergrad and save money for grad/law school instead?
• How realistic is it to manage UCLA costs as an out-of-state transfer student?

I’d really appreciate honest advice from people who have actually been through this. I’ve literally been crying over this decision.