After receiving a record number of applications, the University of California admitted a total of 60,439 freshman students for fall, winter and spring quarters of 2003-04. Data shows that the admissions rate grew by 4 percent, but declined slightly for the most selective UC campuses.
UCSD admitted a total of 17,567 freshmen for next year’s fall and winter quarters. UCSD also received a record number of 43,435 freshman student applications, the second highest number of applications received in the UC system.
According to Director of University Outreach Communications Pat Jacoby, UCSD experienced a growth in freshman admissions compared to last year.
“”Admissions were planned for the increase,”” Jacoby said. “”We knew more students will be applying from high school, and all campuses have been asked to increase enrollment.””
The increasing amount of applications has caused various UC campuses to become more selective. Among UCSD admits, students have a mean high school grade point average of 4.04 and a 1,288 average score on the SAT.
“”What it says is that UCSD, though it is a young institution, continues to attract excellent students and faculty,”” said Interim Assistant Vice Chancellor of Enrollment Management Mae Brown.
Of those who were accepted to UCSD, 6,899 were also identified as Eligible in the Local Context, meaning they are in the top four percent of their high school.
“”We are pleased with the academic strength of students and faculty who are attracted to our campus,”” Brown said. “”That is something to be proud about and hopefully, the campus will continue to grow.””
According to University of California Office of the President’s data, proportions of underrepresented students have also increased moderately. Underrepresented students make up of 19.8 percent of the admitted class in the UC system. Except for American Indians, other groups show an increase in admissions at six of the eight campuses.
UCSD was one of the campuses which showed an increase in admissions for underrepresented student compared to last year. A total of 363 African-Americans, 1,626 Mexican-Americans, 534 Latinos and 74 Native Americans were admitted for fall 2003 and winter 2004.
UCOP data shows that there was a decrease of underrepresented admits after 1997. Admissions data from 2003 demonstrates an increase in underrepresented admits toward the 1997 level.
“”Overall, admissions of students have been up for the past five years,”” said UCOP spokesperson Hanan Eisenman. “”Some campuses have been more selective for everyone and that could explain the drop. Also, educational inequities have adverse effects on underrepresented students while more represented students are becoming eligible for UC.””
Because of the influx of freshman applicants, about 3,676 students were offered admissions for winter or spring quarter for the entire University of California.
Additionally, 6,472 students were offered admission to a campus that was not selected in their application. This process, called a ‘referral,’ is another way that the University of California is dealing with the increase of student applications.
“”We had a strong, steady growth for the last few years,”” Eisenman said. “”We are pleased to accommodate students who are eligible and work hard to achieve requirements.””
To accommodate the increase of freshman applicants, UCSD has also offered a different type of admission: some 1,677 out of the total number of students were admitted for winter 2004; about 3,800 students are expected to enroll for fall and about 150 to 250 for winter quarter.
“”The type of enrollment will allow us to accommodate a larger winter class,”” Brown said. “”We don’t have sufficient facilities in fall, so we made the decision to accept about 10 percent of the admitted during winter quarter.””
Freshman admissions for other campuses include 17,418 at UC Davis, 17,926 at UC Irvine, 18,706 at UC Santa Barbara and 8,679 at UC Berkeley.
2003-04 Freshman Class at UCSD
Statistical profile
SAT I average 1,288 Average G.P.A. 4.04
Percentage of admits of underrepresented ethnicity
1997 16.6
1998 11.9
1999 12.1
2000 13.5
2001 12.9
2002 15.8
2003 17.0
2003-04 admits
White 5,258
Asian American 5,772
Latino 1,889
Black 309
American Indian 62
Other 223
Declined to state 1,325
* “”Underrepresented students”” include students from ethnic backgrounds that include Latino and Chicano, black and American Indian.
