what merit aid can i expect to receive at the UCs?

State Forums
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<p>It is important to realize that the top merit scholarship at the UCs, the Regent’s Scholarship, is administered differently at each campus. In addition, the 9 UC campuses differ in their selectivity so your chances of admission, let alone merit aid, at the 9 campuses vary widely. Therefore asking a blanket question about merit award chances at all 9 UC campuses leaves posters with too broad a question. I am also not sure if by “50% discount” you are referring to 50% off of fees/tuition (which is about $12,000) or 50% off of the cost of attendance (which is approximately $32,000 for California residents).</p>

<p>At the “top” three UCs, the Regents Scholarship, in addition to being incredibly selective/competitive, is a somewhat modest honorarium that increases if the student has financial need. You would be advised to check the net price calculators for each UC to see if you would be considered to have need. Some samples below:</p>

<p>UC Berkeley: The Regent’s is an honorarium of $2,500/year. [UC</a> Berkeley Financial Aid and Scholarships Office: Undergraduates » Types of Aid » Scholarships » Regents’ and Chancellor’s Scholarship Benefits](<a href=“http://students.berkeley.edu/finaid/undergraduates/RCbenefits.htm]UC”>http://students.berkeley.edu/finaid/undergraduates/RCbenefits.htm)
UCLA: The Regent’s is an honorarium of $2,000/year. [UCLA</a> Financial Aid Office | CAL GRANTS | LOANS | WORK STUDY | SCHOLARSHIP | PELL GRANTS](<a href=“http://www.fao.ucla.edu/uclascholarships/regents.html]UCLA”>http://www.fao.ucla.edu/uclascholarships/regents.html)
UC San Diego: The Regent’s is an honorarium of $2,000/year. <a href=“http://students.ucsd.edu/_files/fao/regentsscholar-fr-2013.pdf[/url]”>http://students.ucsd.edu/_files/fao/regentsscholar-fr-2013.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>All of those may be increased for students who demonstrate financial need per the FAFSA.</p>

<p>The Regent’s Scholarship would be less selective and somewhat more lucrative at some of the other UC campuses. UC Merced, for example, offers an honorarium of $7,000/year (which would meet your 50% criteria assuming you were referring to fees/tuition). [Institutional</a> Scholarships | Financial Aid](<a href=“http://financialaid.ucmerced.edu/institutional-scholarships#uc]Institutional”>http://financialaid.ucmerced.edu/institutional-scholarships#uc) regents</p>

<p>I will allow you to investigate the remaining undergraduate UCs (UCD, UCSB, UCSC, UCR, UCI) on your own.</p>

<p>As you can see, the top merit awards at the UCs are in general unlikely to meet your 50% criteria (especially if you are talking about total COA of $30,000+) unless you demonstrate financial need. </p>

<p>Hope this helps.</p>