<p>I'm going to start out by saying I love Berkeley. I like UCLA, don't get me wrong, but I do wish Cal had given me Regents instead of LA.</p>
<p>Is there actually a faculty mentor for Regents Scholars at LA? And what does that actually mean? Is it that big of a perk? How beneficial is the scholarship in general?</p>
<p>I'm trying to decide between UCLA w/ Regents and Cal with nothing, but I've always felt more of a Golden Bear, since I grew up in NorCal and have even had family members get married on campus. Also, I'm not totally enamored with the city of LA, and the smog, and the brown, and the supposed (and somebody correct me if I'm wrong, please) greater -- some would say excessive -- emphasis on looks. And then I've heard that once you step off campus in LA, you're in somewhat of a sterile bubble of Porsches and chic, pricey hangouts, etc. On the other hand, I'm in love with how quirky Cal is, its close proximity to SF, and just the culture, the feel of Cal. I'm wondering if the Regents Scholarship outweighs my personal preference in importance, and if it's perhaps worth it to give LA a chance.</p>
<p>I don't think Regents at UCLA is enough to outweigh your loveydoveyness with Cal. Guaranteed parking, a couple of thousand dollars, and socials with "pretentious people" (according to a friend in Regents) does not measure up to when you fall in love with a school. Go where you're happy.</p>
<p>If you like the atmosphere at Cal better, go there! Atmosphere, really, is motivation for the mind. If you like UCLA, be a Bruin! Both are reputable schools, but in the end, Regents won't make or break your experience, so go where you want.</p>
<p>Thanks for the advice, vc08. I'm just hoping that I'm not losing out on some good opportunities by passing up Regents at LA. That's pretty much the only thing holding me back from accepting Cal's offer immediately.</p>
<p>I would advise you to go with Cal, because it seems like you really like it. Regents is a nice perk, but it shouldn't make or break your decision if you already have a clear preference. </p>
<p>Looking back, I think that the only thing that really matters in your decision is where you can really imagine yourself enjoying your college years - the atmosphere, vibe, etc. Looks like that's Cal for you...</p>
<p>My D is admitted with Regents to both schools ... and Cal's Regents Scholarship is NEXT to nothing ;) ($1000 at Cal vs. 5500 at UCLA annually); and I heard that UCLA's Regents Scholars have much more of the other "privileges" compared to Cal's. So, OP, don't fret much about not getting Cal's R.S. - you still would be fretting how much your love to Cal outweighs the material benefits of UCLA ... just like my D does now. ;)</p>
<p>If Regents at UCLA amounts to >$20K over 4 years, you need to have a LOT of love for Cal versus UCLA for that price. If you're rich then maybe it doesn't matter.</p>
<p>In our case, it's not just pure love itself. ;) DD wants to double-major in music and some other academic field (which might have to do with languages, linguistics, international relations etc.), but, being unsure how doable is that, she plans to start with music minor. Therefore, the problem is:</p>
<p>1) UCLA does not offer music minor.
2) For being a music major you need to audition (and risk your acceptnace based on audition (pretty competitive one, too) alone). DD didn't.</p>
<p>As to us, her parents, even not being too rich, we don't have a heart to push our baby farther from home if she wants to stay closer. ;)</p>
<p>I would personally go with UCLA regents. But your love for Cal, which I totally don't understand, might outweigh regents. Plus if you're filthy rich, then regents probably wouldn't matter anyways.</p>
<p>Onething I noted is that regent's program at UCLA is more proactive than Cal/regents. UCLA has already contacted regents scholars.
$22,000/4 years is a lot of money.</p>
<p>Myau, congrats to your D! Our family isn't incredibly rich either, but they're perfectly willing to pay full tuition at Cal for me to stay closer to home, so they've been telling me repeatedly to disregard the monetary benefits.</p>
<p>Can anybody shine some light on the faculty mentors at UCLA?</p>