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

Archive State Forums
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<p>SAT: 2290 single sitting 800, 760, 730 (80, 6)
SAT-2: world history 800, us history 790, chemistry 770, Spanish 760, math 2 740 (probably will retake)
AP: 5 on Spanish (non-native speaker), US, Bio, Eng Lang, World, Chem 10-11
GPA: 5.0/4.0 9-11 GPA: 4.82/4.0 (1st out of 430)
Outstanding recs from physics/chem teacher, world/Euro teacher, and 10-11 grade Spanish teacher.
ECs: key club (president), honor society, CSF, broadcast club, French club (just went there for the food lol), varsity tennis, after school tutor 2 days/week, set up a youth frisbee clinic which the rec department then sponsored, freshman orientation/spirit events, work for nearly six figures as a professional cameraman and pay taxes, over 200 hrs community service</p>

<p>White, no religion, 90k income (parents both work), low scoring public school in Napa, CA</p>

<p>I would love it if I could even get a 50% discount</p>

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<p>Anybody…?</p>

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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>

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<p>Congratulations on your hard work. </p>

<p>If you are earning close to six figures, it will be difficult to prove financial need, because your income will be calculated into the equation. (This is probably why you ask about merit scholarships).</p>

<p>Your odds of significant merit aid at the top UCs are low. They do not give out much merit aid. You are probably in line for a Regent’s scholarship at many if not most of the UCs.</p>

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<p>On just $90,000 parental income, you would likely get a fairly significant amount of need-based financial aid at UCs (FAFSA EFC probably around $14,000 + ESC probably around $9,000 (varies a bit by campus) = about $23,000 net price). Regents’ scholarships, if you get them, will probably replace the ESC with additional grant.</p>

<p>But if you “work for nearly six figures”, they will assume you can afford to attend without needing any financial aid grants. In this case, getting a Regents’ scholarship would just give the honorarium amount.</p>

<p>There are a few very rare larger merit scholarships at UCs, like the Drake at Berkeley for mechanical engineering majors, or the Stamps Foundation scholarships at UCLA.</p>