UCI Regents, UCSD Regents or UCLA?

tdad · 04-13-2005, 07:56 PM

My son has received Regents Scholar/Honors offers to both UC Irvine and UC San Diego. He's also been accepted to UCLA (no aid) and Rice (no aid). There are a few other private colleges, but again ... no aid.
So I think it will eventually come down to the Final 4: Irvine, San Diego, UCLA and Rice.
Since this is a UC thread, I'm reaching out for any objective opinions on the three UC schools. He's a bio major, with a possible pre-med track.
We never got a chance to visit any of the UC schools, but a friend of his returned from a weekend visit to UCLA and UCSD, and felt UCLA was a much better choice than UCSD for him. "Too many nerdy Asians" at Revelle College. Ironically, he (and we) ARE of Asian ethnicity!
A concern about UCLA, other than having to pay full-fare (!), is its size. Son was worried about being able to get the classes he wants in order to graduate in four years. With the Regents/Honors at UCI and UCSD, you get priority registration, not to mention guaranteed housing, and an honorarium ($$$).
With UCLA, you get all the other intangibles: a great, challenging institution in a vibrant atmosphere. With UCI and UCSD, it seems to be more heavily geared toward academics (which is fine), but not as much out-of-class activities.
All three seem to have wonderful research opportunities. Gosh, there are so many plusses and minuses to all of them.
Can anyone share more? I'm just trying to gather as much information so that we can make a sound decision once commitment day comes around ... which is soon!

04-13-2005, 08:04 PM

go to chico state then

yackityack · 04-13-2005, 09:56 PM

All of those schools have more Asians than white folk (save Rice) so no getting around that, and yes some of them will be nerdy too, at all of those schools.

Wow. Thats a tough decision though, so many great options. For what it's worth, I'm in honors at UCI and enjoying it.

Dru2k5 · 04-13-2005, 10:03 PM

what's wrong with nerdy asians? why do people have natural aversion to anything that wears glasses with yellow skin?

tdad · 04-13-2005, 10:09 PM

Thanks, yackityack. UCI honors really sounds like a great opportunity, and UCI has been very good about communicating throughout this process. I'm glad you're enjoying UCI.
To UClover8: I hear you. I didn't mean to offend you, or come off as some kind of elitist snob. Maybe too much information. The old dog is learning.
Dru2k5: Yeah, what a bum stereotype.
Anyway, thanks all of you for responding.

Dru2k5 · 04-13-2005, 10:32 PM

yeah..it is a bum stereotype. i have a friend who from the outside looks like a straight up nerd..glasses, slick back hair, asian, whack clothes, the whole nine. what does he do on friday night? damn , he's breakdancin, clubbin, the whole nine with all the ladies. he's got ten times more confidence than me...and the ladies dig it...

myself, on first impression girls are always saying i look lik a playa but what do i prefer on a friday night? i prefer just chilling with my girl over dinner in a very modest and quiet type of setting, away from all the clubs..

get away from stereotypes and you'll be suprise who you'll find pimpin it up night and day, and you'll be suprise at whose takin a girl through an art gallery.

Dru2k5 · 04-13-2005, 10:37 PM

sounds like your son likes UCLA more though..you son sounds like the social type so he would have a great time at UCLA.

Newtonian · 04-13-2005, 11:15 PM

UCSD biomed is 1st class. UCSD probably has the best biomed program of all the UCs.

You have to go with UCSD, it is a superior science school.

And, the regent scholarship just sweetens the deal even more.

UClippers05 · 04-14-2005, 04:08 PM

uci and ucsd are both good and i am a bio major who is premed i visited ucsd's campus and it was ok uci seems more active and just as good as ucsd Revelle yeah i got into there also its 240 units to graduate and only 180 for uci which gives u more options to take whatever courses u want later on or extra courses to learn without worrying trying to get to 240 UCI also has good research and thats what I want to do, but UCSD is also fantastic. UCI has a more active campus w/ being Division 1 in sports im not sure about their clubs, but UCSD has a bunch. But I think I am gonna go to UCI.

HaNNa72287 · 04-15-2005, 03:19 PM

ucla would be the best school out of those, even though it cost alot it is definetly worth the price

gmc · 04-15-2005, 05:58 PM

S has a similar situation with the same 3 UC schools except instead of Regent's it's a sports recruitment issue. UCI and UCSD have both offered a position on the track team and UCLA has not, needs to try out as a walk-on.
Of the 3 campuses he liked UCLA best but doesn't like the risk of being shut out of track and field as UCLA is a tough track team to get on to as a walk on. UCSD was nice, just not as vibrant as UCLA and is Div 2 sports - UCI was nice and Div 1 sports but seems pretty much out at this point because the ghost town atmosphere on the weekend was a turn off. It's a real toss-up right now between UCLA and UCSD. Sports recruits have similar perks such as housing commitment and priority classes too so that is a big plus, as well as having a secured spot on the team. UCSD offers no scholarships for sports so there is no financial advantage however. On the surface UCLA appeals to him more than UCSD but as he digs deeper he's beginning to realize that UCSD may be the better fit overall. Tough call though, I'd be torn too if I were him....

leggomyeggo · 04-18-2005, 07:56 PM

tdad... UCSD- HANDS DOWN. I've just visited both of the campuses and which school I'll attend is still up in the air (in spite of UCLA's amazing academic reputation!) For me it's going to come down to smaller issues such as transportation and housing conveniences because both schools have top notch similarly ranked econ programs and both have many ups and very few downs. If I were offered a cent more of financial aid to either school that would be the deciding factor.

By the way, your son won't have to worry about "too many nerdy asians" because SDSU and USD are within 15 minutes of UCSD if he's not finding people he clicks with at UC. Good luck to you and your son man.

gmc... keep us posted.

whatwednesday · 03-15-2010, 11:23 PM

ucla

your son likes it best

bluebayou · 03-15-2010, 11:31 PM

If he is leaning premed, he NEEDS A's and that means Irvine is the logical choice -- the competition will be less than the other two.

btw: I'm a BIG fan of Rice, but that is a whole different ball game.

cp_sabotage · 03-16-2010, 01:07 AM

There's no way you can get out to see the campuses?
That's my suggestion, go see for yourself.

I did last year with all 3 of those schools and I just like UCLA the most. It wasn't about some ridiculous statements thrown around here ("UCLA is for parties" or "UCSD is for people who study all the time" or "Irvine is for Asians"), but rather about how I felt about each of the campuses.

Irvine honors was tempting, and they put on a good show, but I didn't like how eerily quiet it was and how I got the impression of high school from some of the people who I talked to. Nothing against UCI, just not for me.

UCSD is literally 10 minutes from my house, and while I love La Jolla aesthetically, the design of the campus and its proximity to me were big factors in not going.

I'll avoid commenting on UCLA since I go there, but I can say that I didn't choose it based on where it's ranked in US News. Frankly, the best parts of my college experience so far have been unrelated to academics (except for a few really exceptional professors), and I hear similar stories from friends who are doing well at other colleges (from MIT to San Diego State).

It's gotta fit, so go out and visit if it's possible. You can hit UCSD then UCI then UCLA in a neat order over the course of like 3 days (or less, if you get there and just don't like it) since they are all relatively close.

That's my 2 cents, PM me if you have any other questions!

Best of luck,
cp