Hmmm. As a Southerner/East Coaster from VA, I was mostly struck by 2 things when I moved to CA. 1) how short everyone was, and 2) how friendly everyone was. CA is, however, very diverse and that diversity can be somewhat assaulting for a while to someone (like I was) who was familiar with rather homogenous surroundings. I would think that an ethnography student would be prepared to take this in stride!

I went to a rich-kid "party" school (USC), but rarely partied and certainly wasn't rich. School reputation is not all; good educations can be found at almost any large university if the student wants it. But I worked in the entertainment industry, so going to USC was as much about making contacts and establishing credibility as it was about, well, them being the ones that offered me the most money to go there.   

'Spaw is 100% right -- she should spend some time looking at how the industry views the schools, and what their alumni are doing. The contacts that can be made through the teaching staff are also crucial, because that's likely the place where she'll get her first job offer.