My daughter was offered a spot in the UCSD incoming class of 2024 and was also offered a Regents scholarship of 5k per year. She was very excited when she got the news and we as her parents are also thrilled.
She is interested in Biology or Environmental Science and her current intention is to go to Vet school after undergrad.
She was also accepted at UC Berkeley, UCLA, and Duke and is considering her options. She is drawn to the percieved higher prestige of UCLA, Berkeley, and Duke.
Based on my readings of Challenge Success white paper, the Gallup poll on Prestigous Colleges and Happiness, and that she wants to major in Bio, I believe that going to UCSD with the opportunities offered thru the Regent’s Scholarship in terms of mentorship and research opportunities is the best fit for her.
Since we can’t visit UCSD due to the Covid-19 shutdown, wondering if there are any UC students who faced a similar choice, what you decided, and why?
First off, a huge congratulations to your daughter!
Does she want to stay in California for vet school? Gumbymom posted this in another thread. UCDavis is considered the top vet school in the nation. Look at where their students come from. https://www.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/admissions/application-statistics-class-2023
Financially, is Duke affordable if she is planning on professional school after undergrad?
Edit: I’m not sure if @BunnyBlue is on this forum much anymore but her son went through the process of deciding regents at UCSD vs UCLA and chose UCSD. I tagged her because she might be able to provide some first hand perspective.
Hello,
I am also facing a similar predicament. I was selected for the UCSD regents and now I have to make the choice between that, UCLA, and UCB. My majors for all are about the same as a pre-med path with bio/ biochem as my major but that is subject to change with my changing interests. I have been doing a LOT of research on this choice and here is a bit of advice.
If finances are an issue, the UCSD package as a whole with regents in much more affordable than the other options especially with housing.
The other factor to consider is the priority enrollment in classes which I have heard is pretty nice due to the fact that UC GE classes fill up fast.
However, the quality of life on campus is a big factor to consider as well. Plus where the University is located is a big factor too, since all four of your options are very different.
Overall, because I don’t want to make this too long and since I am in the same boat, I just want to say to your daughter that wherever she ends up, she will make it her home.
Good Luck on this decision and I hope more people comment on this thread so I can get some help deciding too, lol.
@SD20020 Just my two cents. Priority registration is helpful for more than just GEs. For example, if there are two different professors teaching lower division bio, calc, chem and one has better ratings then having priority registration would help you to get the better professor. Similarly, if one lab were offered at 10 am - noon and the other was 6 pm - 8 pm, priority registration would let you pick the timing that works best for you.
Regents usually helps in terms of priority housing selection too.
Forgot to mention to look at how the three schools accept AP credit. It may or may not be a factor in your decision. At UCSD it depends on the college you are in: https://www.ucsd.edu/catalog/pdf/APC-chart.pdf
My daughter is facing the same exact situation now but in engineering. She’s drawn to the prestige of UCLA or Duke but UCSD regents is a big benefit. It makes UCSD cheaper than UCLA because they give you money and you can get out earlier with priority registration. With respect to prestige, I believe that your undergrad degree is not nearly as important as your graduate degree. (When people ask me what school I’m from, I do not tell them about the state school that I attended, but the prestigious private grad school I attended for grad studies.) We visited UCSD and UCLA, but not Duke. My daughter enjoyed both atmospheres, but resonated more with UCSD. I preferred UCLA. UCLA’s campus “buzzed” a bit more with activity and was like a busy city. I noticed the people were more polished and well-dressed, which isn’t important to me but just an observation. UCSD was relaxed, nerdy, and people seemed happy and less hurried. Just my impressions of spending half a day at each. We’ve heard that off-campus housing in Westwood is hard to find and difficult to access. We didn’t visit the town itself. LaJolla is a great beach vacation spot, but it’s expensive and not a town that my daughter sees herself spending time in, except for the beach itself. All in all, they can’t go wrong with any of these schools–they will not have any regrets. Despite the lower prestige among the general population, UCSD has strong academics and a solid reputation among employers and grad schools. It’s strong in STEM and lots of female role models. Congrat to your daughter and good luck in the fall!