Thank you so much! That was superbly helpful and explains the quotes in the article. I swear the actual UC sites don’t spell it out nearly as well as you do. This makes sense. I hadn’t really looked much into how UCI does things as my son didn’t apply there, but we did just visit it on the way down to see UCLA (where he just submitted the SIR), and I think our daughter might want to consider applying. This helps a lot.
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My daughter is in the same situation. She loved Triton Day and SD was her first choice until we toured SD and Irvine last weekend. Now she is very conflicted. The only concern she has about Irvine is from her YouTube research where some students said it tends to be quieter on the weekends because there’s a large commuter population that go home. She’s also under the impression that she has to join a sorority to have an active social life.
I’d love to hear from all of you who have insights re UCI’s social life.
We have always tried to let our boys find their own ways and learn from their mistakes. Today is a doozy. Son SIR yesterday to UCI CS program. Tomorrow is deadline as you all know. Admissions is closed and seems unlikely to be open again til Monday according to recording, despite deadline coming on weekend. So what am I babbling about?
Son walked out to the mailbox about 5 pm today and gets a letter that says he’s been offered $30,000 and Regent’s from Davis as a CS admit. He never got an email and no call ever came to our phone asking wassup? He doesn’t really understand anything about Regent’s nor do we, but I certainly like the offer to help finance this rodeo. It would be great to get an extension to help understand what’s at stake, but how might we get that when the deadline falls on a Saturday? It seems ethically responsible to me under the circumstances that he could deposit at Davis too and explain the double deposits on Monday and ask for advice and extensions from both campuses so he can figure things out and negotiate with his benefactors (mom and I).
He says he realizes this is a bummer, not ideal and worries such actions might get him blackballed everywhere. He has always had a relatively low opinion of Davis and refused to drive out there despite my respect for the Aggies. I think he believes it is too rural for him and not as prestigious as Irvine or as close for good internships. Maybe he’s right on some accounts and of course he will make the final decision himself. I just think it ought to be a well informed decision. I like $30,000 and know how hard it is to put that much in the bank. I also suspect there are some real perks and benefits to being a Regent scholar. Do you folks think it is unethical to double deposit under these circumstances if we call first thing Monday morning? Any other thoughts?
I would try posting this in Parents of the HS Class of 2021 (Part 3). There are many knowledgeable people there who may not see this post here.
Congratulations to your son! The Regents offer should have been pretty obvious when he logged onto his Davis portal. Did he not look because he wasn’t interested in Davis?
On top of the $30K ($7500/yr), UCD Regents scholars get priority registration which is a huge perk. Regents are also part of the University Honors Program.
I would be in a car driving to Davis. 
I agree with @lkg4answers, my guess is he wasn’t paying attention to anything Davis. Both excellent schools. However, I find it funny, cause while he thinks Davis is rural, Irvine is in the middle of suburbia, so not much difference imo in terms of plus/minus in the final score, neither are in a budding metropolis or swanky area. I understand his perception of Davis, I had the same thoughts until we visited and were pleasantly surprised. It’s actually a really gorgeous campus set in a very stereotypical college town. Kids seem happy at Davis. The amount of bikes freaked me out a bit!
Of course you would have looked at the school for 30,000 reasons had you known. So, you have till tomorrow at midnight…if you are in the same state of indecision tomorrow at 5:00pm you have to make a call.
Either, let it ride at UCI, or commit to Davis - yes there are situations where people double commit for a short time - rather than debate the ethics of it, I think you have to dig deep to decide if it is really necessary. Frankly, it doesn’t seem like much is gonna sell him on Davis and the good news is he did commit to the school he feels is better for different reasons.
From a logisticis standpoint, you can’t add Davis after the deadline, but you can undo Irvine after the deadline. If Davis is the choice, commit to Davis before withdrawing your SIR for sure regardless. Don’t end up in no-where land.
Not sure if calling Monday is just to buy time to the inevitable and what those 24-48 hours get you. You can find all that Regents offers online, so you really have the data. Is waiting till Monday gonna buy you anything really that you won’t have tomorrow? Are you going to see Davis by then? I assume he wouldn’t commit site unseen?
You need to decide where he wants to go, where you want him to go and who has more weight in the decision. The best thing would be to reach a definitive decision by tomorrow night. Then you can stay committed to Irvine or commit to Davis with some certainty.
Keep in mind that May 1st gives many parents a big case of the heeby jeebies. It’s a day with a lot of weight on it. I couldn’t wait for May 1st to be over so it was really over. Wish you all luck!
Congrats! UCDavis Regents is among the top $ awarded among UCs. Maybe only behind Merced. It comes with priority registration. Both UCI and UCD are great schools. I’ve been to UCI and live close to UCD. I personally like the UCI campus much better and so did my son. However, I feel like there’s more to do in the immediate, walking area surrounding areas in Davis (eg restaurants, etc). That said, you can uber around Irvine and you’ll run into great restaurants. Everything amazing is a 15-45 min car ride from Irvine (ocean, Disneyland, a longer ride to LA, etc). Davis is a 45 min car ride to Sacramento and a 90 min train ride or car ride to S.F. Weather is warm and pleasant in both cities but the temp can be a little more extreme in Davis.
Thanks, your comments and the family discussions that followed helped solidify his feelings about Irvine and saved mom and dad 30 grand!
JK, but we thought about it.
My child goes to UCD and it only takes 20 min to get to Sacto. By car, SF is an hour away Tahoe two hours. The BerkBus is a convenient option for students with out a car.
Daddio24, I’m glad that a decision has been made and that he (and you) are happy with his choice.
I believe $7500/year Regent’s scholarship is the highest one can get. It should be noted in the university portal. Your son probably missed it.
For me, UCI campus is little nicer, big oval in the middle, easy walking distance to all buildings. UCD is quite spread out. Overall, the buildings for both schools are not that pretty! UCI’s CS program ranks little bit higher.
The commit deposit is only $150, right. I would commit to UCD today and straighten it out Monday. Just tell the other school there is confusion with the scholarship. I am sure it will understand. May be UCI will match the Regent’s scholarship!
Here is the breakdown of the monetary value of Regents scholarships by school
UCR - $10K/year
UCD - $7500/year
UCM - $7000/year
UCSB, UCSD, UCSC, UCI - $5000/year
Berkeley - $2500/year
UCLA - $2000/year
UCSB recently took priority registration away from Regents and honors students. I don’t believe any of the other UCs have followed suit.
The UCs don’t usually match Regents scholarships but since your son missed it on the UCD portal, have him double check the UCI portal. He should have been receiving emails from UCD about their honors program, financial aid, etc. Has he been receiving those emails from UCI as well?
Do UC admissions offices actually consider requests to match offers of other universities? He has not been offered anything, money honors college etc, from Irvine yet. It only says on his portal that he will hear from them by the end of April. He thinks they might be waiting until the very last minute to post their offers for some reason.
@Daddio24 @legojedi: No, the UC’s do not match other campuses financial aid/merit aid offers. Regents cannot be transferred from one campus to another.
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@lkg4answers You’re right. I usually pass Davis coming home to Sac from SF or Vice versa and traffic is always bad at the times I’ve gone so it’s usually 45 when you’re smack in that Mace Exit area traffic.
Thanks Gmom, we all owe you a ton of thanks.
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I know. Just half joking!
Daddio24, so what was the final decision? UCI or UCD?
He’s a happy anteater, zot zot zot. Poster is up in his room and swag is on its way.
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Congrats, he picks UCI then.
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Correct