<p>I went into the competition not really understanding that as a Regents scholar (and basically having a full ride) the Alumni scholarships would not really impact my FA package.
I was notified that I am a state finalist for the alumni scholarship. However, as I do not need the money and I would like someone else to receive the scholarship money, should I just explain my situation to the UCLA alumni contact person? I would still like to be an Alumni Scholar should I choose to attend UCLA, but I would like to give the opportunity to someone else?</p>
<p>Hey, so I think I could probably help you out, but I’m a little unsure exactly of what your saying.</p>
<p>If you don’t mind me asking (or you can PM me if you’d prefer), what is your FA package? I’m a bit confused by what you mean about Regents and the Alumni scholarship not really impacting it. If you have a full-ride through Regents, you shouldn’t need financial aid (unless I’m not reading that correctly). ASC will not give you over the amount of tuition, room and board. So say UCLA is ~25,000 dollars. If Regents gives you $22,000, ASC will not give you the minimum $6,000 for SF because you would then be making a profit of $3,000 (bummer, huh?? :P). However, though I’m not certain, I would assume ASC would be able to work with you to give you $3,000 or something. The money you don’t need will be put back into the scholarship pool, so you won’t be “wasting” it, for lack of a better term.</p>
<p>I would definitely contact Michelle Sproat (ASC advisor) about it. You can either call the Alumni Association, or let me know if you’d prefer email, and I can PM you her address. She basically is one of the main people in charge of State Finals, so she would definitely be able to assist you.</p>
<p>State Finals is truly a unique and enjoyable weekend that gets you SO pumped for UCLA, so I’d hate to see you miss the opportunity. Though I’m very proud of you for thinking of others who might need it more; no doubt that’s why you’ve gotten this far in life.</p>
<p>But definitely talk to someone (specifically Michelle) about it before passing it up. My guess is that you can work something out to attend; ASC is about so much more than simply money.</p>
<p>Don’t reject it. Not because of the advertised “benefits” since any of those can almost be had very easily (with exception of priority enrollment for regents, same can almost be said unless you value expensive parking permits but driving is not a necessity), but because if you get it, its another thing to put early on in your resume in case you are applying for internships or if you’re applying for a position at a research lab and the PI wants a CV from you. It would be yet another recognition of your accomplishments. No matter how many scholarships you have, never pass up on applying for more. </p>
<p>
Regents only gives $5500 annually max. Most people with financial needs will have financial aid comprising mostly of loans. Being a regents scholar will replace all those potential loans with state grants and odd-end “scholarships” (based on financial need / academic performance but not something you apply for- and not something you should really list on CVs since its technically not something merit based but rather given automatically because of your financial status). If you “give” the opportunity to someone else to get an alumni scholarship, you are denying someone else from getting the free grants that you are getting so its not technically a completely noble intention. Your financial aid will adjust accordingly, but you can actually put down another award when you apply for other scholarships in the future which you should since you are probably more than capable. These scholarships/awards will really come in handy down the line when you apply for graduate school later, whether it be medical, law, or whatever. I’m over-saturated with scholarships and I won’t ever see money from some of them, but I think my “awards” section on my CV definitely helped me get a nice lab position my first year (PI commented on it). Its also cyclical because having some awards helps you in getting more scholarships.</p>
<p>^^I know of a couple people who claim to have earned a full-ride through Regents. So I’m not sure how that compares with the cap you mention (you may be right, I didn’t qualify for a full-ride, so I didn’t really look into that)…</p>
<p>The only way to have a “full-ride through Regents” is to demonstrate financial needs via FAFSA and then they will get you grants etc instead of loans and work study</p>
<p>^ My family’s efc is really low so I got grants instead of loans and work study. Which is why I don’t really understand how I would be denying someone else grant money? I mean I understand about the cap, but Regents covers everything else. As I can’t really earn more than a full ride… wouldn’t it be better for someone else to have the chance to earn grant money? I’m not really understanding what you mean here. </p>
<p>In addition, right now I’m leaning towards another school. So I won’t even know if I want to go to UCLA until my Regents stay next week…</p>
<p>what other school are you leaning toward…im curious</p>
<p>^ Claremont McKenna. I’ve always thought myself as more of a liberal arts person, so it’s really appealing right now. Plus I want to go to law school and they have an amazing law school placement rate. </p>
<p>However, I do love UCLA as well, so I’m waiting to see how my stay for Regents goes :)</p>
<p>Hmm… Well I’m sure you could get into a great law school just as easily from UCLA as McKenna. And I think you’ll enjoy yourself more at UCLA.</p>
<p>^ haha thanks. </p>
<p>I’m still struggling though… should I or should I not do state finals ? 
I really don’t want to do two weekends fully at UCLA :(</p>
<p>do it. you won’t be sorry!!</p>
<p>yeah, i couldnt go either cuz of state champs for speech and debate (which is only 10 minutes away from UCLA…lol)</p>
<p>they yielded my spot to the area level alternate, i think</p>