Which school(s) did you turn down in order to attend SD?
I turned down UCLA for UCSD. No regrets.
Turned down UCLA (dream school) and USC for UCSD. Yeah, people think I’m weird.
Can you guys/gals mention what majors you were accepted at UCSD and others, and if there’s scholarship involved in your decision.
I got in for Molecular Biology but Biochemistry in UCLA. Factors that played a huge role is my decision was that Molecular Biology is my ideal major and I prefer UCSD’s setting and location than UCLA’s because UCLA is too close to where I live. I also wanted to just get away from LA and experience something new and meet new people. UCLA did offer me more money in the financial aid package though.
I got accepted for Biology at both UCLA and USC, but Human Bio at UCSD. I ended up choosing UCSD because I got a Chancellor’s Scholarship. If it wasn’t for that, I would have chosen UCLA.
Turned down Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon for Computer Science with Specialization in Bioinformatics at UCSD.
@Tectonic Holy… you must be in state right? Well for those who wonder why they did not get into CS directly, this is at least ‘one’ of the reasons!
@Tectonic , what was the reason for turning down Carnegie? Did you get a scholarship (Jacobs, Regents) at UCSD?
Yup, in-state from California, so I found it more cost-efficient. Plus you don’t get beaches in Pittsburg! 
Stanford…no wait, that’s crazy talk.
@CU123 I do know someone who turned down Stanford and MIT, although admittedly he’s a Jacobs Scholar
Most people who turn down these schools are ones who have full rides elsewhere and the family is in that median area for income so they would end up paying quite a bit. It seems like right around 1/4 of their gross income, so 50K for someone earning 200K is a rule of thumb, or 40K for someone earning 160K, although its not a linear function. That’s before taxes and they aren’t getting any tax credits for college because their income is too high.
I know two people, one who turned down UChicago and another who turned down MIT who decided to go to UCSD. I turned down UC Davis for UCSD (ik, not as crazy as others I know :)) )
Our oldest turned down UC Berkeley for UCSD with his major in computer science. He also turned down UC Irvine, UC Davis and Georgia Tech. He declined the offer to be on the priority waitlist for Carnegie Mellon. This was in 2015.
Our second turned down Tufts University for UCSD as a biology major (with a specialization in bioinformatics at UCSD). Tufts was tempting because it was financially feasible since they offered us a $20,000 discount (recognizing the financial strain of paying for two children in college at the same time at our not-low-but-not-wealthy income level). He also turned down UC Irvine and UC Davis. He has been saying he’ll pass on UCLA if he gets accepted from the waitlist (he sounds certain enough that maybe we should ask to have him taken off of UCLA’s waitlist).
We’re California residents. We appreciate the excellent public universities that California offers to its students – so many options, so much variety in the campus environments – there’s something for everyone to like!
Turned down UC Berkeley, UC Santa Barbara, and UCLA for UCSD. UCLA was my dream school but once I got to UCSD’s campus I knew that this was the right place to be.
Oldest son, a California resident, turned down Berkeley, UCLA, and Univ. of Washington for Regents at UCSD in computer science. UCLA and U of Wash. also offered the CS major, and at Berkeley one applies for it after two years. He didn’t like the uncertainty of having to apply for the major at Berkeley, since there is a lot of competition for grades there. He also turned down CS Regents at UC Davis, Santa Barbara and Irvine. The research he did starting as a freshman as part of UCSD Regents was critical for getting an internship at the company he aimed for. He also values the quality of friendships he made at UCSD.