I believe the Alumni scholarship looks at more than just academics so over coming adversity, essays, unique EC’s, community service and special talents will be considered.
Regents is mainly academic based with the top 1-2% of applicants being considered.
Best of luck to your D.
Thank you! We are hoping she gets in
Regents scholarship normally means accepting.
Thank you for the information, Gumbymom. Do you happen to know whether the readers also read the original personal insight questions? Obviously want to include important things but don’t want to be redundant.
@WhimisicalSquid: The candidates for the Alumni scholarship are screened based on their UC application but alumni do not have acees to the full application.
@Gumbymom @WhimsicalSquid If I remember correctly, when I applied for the scholarship in 2016, I contacted the alumni association and was told they do not have access for the essays (maybe app too) when they review for the scholarship. The screening is done off of a rough review from the undergrad admissions staff who forward the contact info to the alumni association. Again it’s been a few years so things might be different. The only things I know for sure are it’s given to a limited amount of applications and has a pretty high correlation with acceptance.
@10s4life: Thanks for the information. The UCLA website states candidates are selected based on an initial UC application screening so they may have limited access as noted. @WhimsicalSquid, you could try to contact them to confirm.
@10s4life @Gumbymom Thank you both. I’ll contact them this coming week and post if I find out anything productive.
My understanding is that the alumni scholarship applications are read by alumni volunteers who do not have access to your UC application.
Antidotally, I have two currently attending UCLA neither received the scholarship invite.
I was a scholarship reader last year (parent of UCLA student, non alum) and I did not have access to the UC applications.
How much is the Alumni scholarship per year? Does it vary from student to student or standard for every one?
Thanks
@10s4life @Gumbymom I called the Alumni Association this morning. The readers do not have access to the original app or the personal insight essays.
Regarding rumors that “everybody” got the email this year, I was told that everybody didn’t get it but they did in fact send it to a larger group than previous years.
@Eastcoast234 The scholarship is $6,000 to $20,000 paid in equal installments over four years with a possible additional need-based grant of $5,000 for the first year only.
@WhimsicalSquid: Thank you for update and information.
Yes the vast majority of the ~150 awarded the Alumni scholarship get the standard $1500 per year, unless they receive the extra need based aid. There is a shortlisting process for video/phone based interviews (IIRC organized on a regional basis within CA) and then roughly 1 in 3 of those interviewed wins the scholarship.
The award of the scholarship is typically announced in early April and then there is a reception for awardees at Bruin Day. A small number (I think 10-20% of winners) are also invited to compete on campus the next weekend for a higher award amount. There is also a reserve list for runners up, since not all of the original winners will choose to attend UCLA.
The shortlisting process appears to be based primarily on a) did you write an essay that stands out and gets noticed by your reader and b) your community service and similar ECs. Its different from the Regents scholarship which is based more on pure academic talent (and obviously relies on the original UC application for shortlisting). So my S who was senior class president etc won an Alumni scholarship, his classmate who was the top student with 36 ACT etc won a Regents scholarship. However, I understand that some applicants can win both scholarships (and then they stack).
Its worth noting that the Regents scholarship is vastly more useful as it gives you class and housing priority (and other things like a parking permit), while the Alumni scholarship doesn’t. Nevertheless, a $6000 scholarship is worth applying for and there are some additional benefits, like access to internships, mentoring etc.
Thank you for sharing the information @WhimsicalSquid @ Twoin18.
@Twoin18 does Regents give you priority dorm choice at UCLA?
@lkg4answers Yes I believe so, though possibly not as a freshman. My S said only the Regents scholars would have a chance of getting a college apartment (he is moving off campus next year, after two years in a triple).
@Twoin18, my S18 moved off campus earlier than he planned to after 1.5 years in a triple (and the triple was far from a low cost option).
We both wish he would have looked off campus earlier!! Despite the highish cost of housing generally, there are a surprising range of affordableish options and a gazillion people subletting spots at any given time. We are from the Bay Area, where housing is even more expensive and in very short supply, and we were pleasantly surprised by what’s available near campus.
@pickledginger Yes he’s found a nice place close to campus. They go quickly (he lost the first place they wanted by waiting 1 day to apply because his roommate couldn’t go to the first open house) and $2650 per month plus utilities for a 1 bedroom apartment (shared between two) with a 12 month lease only feels “affordableish” if you take the Bay Area as your benchmark. Unfortunately we have the alternative benchmark of a brand new much nicer 1 bedroom in Salt Lake City for his sister and her roommate at $1600 including utilities for a 9 month lease. But I’m sure it’s a better deal than at UC Berkeley.