Alumni discuss impact of Regents’ Scholarship

The Regents’ Scholarship is said to be one of the most distinguished scholarships that undergraduates can receive from the Universities of California, more commonly known as UCs. UC Berkeley gives 200 students the scholarship each year.

Students must be either entering freshmen or transfer students, permanent residents or citizens or California Dream Act students and must have demonstrated strength in their academics in order to be considered as Regents’ candidates. After receiving the candidacy, students go through an interview process with the scholarship committee and may choose to submit a teacher recommendation letter as well.

Those who receive the scholarship, which is merit-based, gain priority enrollment, a housing guarantee, a monetary reward of $10,000 over four years, increased library privileges and potential involvement in research programs.

Senior Amy Zhang, who got the scholarship at UC Berkeley and plans to major in Environmental Sciences, said the interview was casual and felt like a conversation.

“I like how the interviewer asked about real world applications of environmental sciences and how we can make the public more aware of [the problems],” Zhang said.

Zhang also said the scholarship will be extremely useful in her choice of choosing a college.

“I like how with the scholarship I get priority in choosing classes and the [priority] dorm assignment,” Zhang said. “I think UC Berkeley looks for students who want to make a difference in the world are are willing to take the initiative to do so.”

For Class of 2014 alumnus Akshay Madhani, who attends UC Berkeley as an electrical engineering/computer science (EECS) major and Regents’ Scholar, the largest benefit is that he doesn’t not need to worry about getting the classes he wants because of priority enrollment.

With this advantage, Madhani also has the flexibility to select section times that he wants for his classes.

“I don’t have to go to class before 10 a.m. because I can always select section times that aren’t in the morning,” Madhani said.

In the future, Madhani wishes to further take advantage of his scholarship by conducting individual research, since Regents’ Scholars can receive research stipends.

Class of 2014 alumnus Mostafa Rohaninejad, who also attends UC Berkeley as an EECS major and Regents’ Scholar, said the scholarship is useful but does not directly change the college lifestyle of students.

“It really has no impact; it is not really a topic of conversation, and it is kind of [odd] to bring it up randomly,” Rohaninejad said.

Among other things, Rohaninejad has found that it is not the scholarship money that is crucial to his life at college, but rather his scheduling and housing preferences. 

“Overall, [the scholarship] is a great opportunity for students to have access to the best resources the UC has to offer,” Rohaninejad said.