@yogi123
From my limited experience in applying to the UC’s, I’ve come to the conclusion that Regents scholarships are verrryyyy beneficial.
For UCSD in particular, the perks include:
priority registration (yay)
mentorship Junior Year (there are some additional reqs, however)
You can read the full list: https://students.ucsd.edu/finances/financial-aid/types/scholarships/freshmen/regents-scholarships.html
You can also call the Scholarship Office itself if you have more specific questions (858) 534-1067
Personally, if I had the choice between LA and SD Regents, I would go for the latter. But it really depends on your son’s thoughts. Where will he be happier? Which location does he like better? (The weather varies quite a bit; SD is closer to the coast and probably is cooler due to those coastal winds. LA traffic is notoriously slow) Where will he get more opportunities? And so on.