<p>I’m in a similar situation, and I would go with MIT. The issue is that the undergrad experience at UC Berkeley is quite poor due to disinterested teaching, large class sizes, and a diluted student body talent-wise (Berkeley is basically some MIT-level people plus a bunch more sub-MIT-level people). The difference is certainly worth much more than 10k a year.</p>
<p>A lot of the perks of the Regents scholarship are not very noteworthy. MIT guarantees on-campus housing for undergrads already. Similarly, you wouldn’t have enrollment issues at MIT. There are UROPs galore at MIT. The only really useful thing IMO is the faculty mentor. I’m not familiar with the general nature of scholar-mentor relationships, but I think you could profit it off it quite a bit. Personally, I have (or at least I think I have) a pretty good conception of both the academic and professional worlds, so that mitigates a bit of the benefits for me. It is intriguing, but I’m wary of the true significance of the mentor.</p>