Are you in state for UCSD? Which college are you in? Regents scholarship is a real honor. It means that UCSD has selected you as one of their top applicants. Besides the $5,000/year scholarship, the two most notable perks are priority registration and UCSD’s research initiative.
Priority registration means that you are allowed to sign up for classes before other students. This means that you will be able to choose the better professors and take classes at more convenient times. Being allowed to take the classes that you want when you want to take them is a HUGE perk.
UCSD’s Research Initiative is a program that pairs freshmen Regents scholars with faculty mentors and research opportunities first quarter of their freshman year. By the time you graduate, you will have had the opportunity to do four years of research.
The Regents scholarship also places you in the honors program within your college. You’ll have to look up the honors program in the college to which you have been admitted. Amongst other things, most colleges seem to offer more personalized advising which can be very helpful.