For the first time since 1993, freshman applications for the University of California have declined in all but one of the eight campuses for fall 2004. However, transfer applications have shown continuous growth with a 5.7-percent increase this year.

UC Santa Cruz was the only campus that received a 7.1-percent increase in freshman applications. Meanwhile, UCSD received 4.7 percent less freshman applications, a slightly higher percentage than the systemwide 4.1-percent drop.

“”The drop may be tied to a variety of factors,”” UC spokesman Hanan Eisenman said. “”There was a modest growth of high school graduates, and of course there’s the recent fee increases.””

But with the University of California already being asked by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to cut down on enrollment as part of addressing the state budget crisis, the drop in applications could have some benefits.

“”While we never welcomed the decrease in applications, given that the UC is being asked to decrease freshmen enrollment, a slight reduction may ease pressures on the system,”” Eisenman said.

UCSD Director of Admissions and Outreach Mae W. Brown agreed that the increased fees could have been a reason for the decline, but also stressed that the decline has only been for one application period.

“”This is a one-term phenomenon,”” Brown said. “”Clearly the increasing fees could be one reason, but there are a number of factors converging at the same time contributing to the decrease.””

International student applications have also dropped from 3,796 last year to 2,414. Out-of- state applications, which have been declining since 2001, also declined from 10,390 to 9,360.

This is the third year that the university has seen a drop in international and out-of-state applications. According to International Center Director Mary Dhooge, the number of international student applicants grew for UCSD last year. However, this year’s decline may be attributed to more security restrictions and other variants within the international community.

“”The ominous news [with the state budget] could be keeping people from applying, especially in California,”” Dhooge said. “”But for international students, I know that there are more visa restrictions and there is the possibility of more charges that will go to the system that keeps track of international students in the United States.””

Meanwhile, the rise in transfer applicants is being attributed to programs reaching out to community college students.

“”The increase in transfer student applications could be because of a lot of aggressive efforts toward community college students to consider and to transfer to our universities,”” Brown said.

The new Dual Admissions Program is providing more ways for students to enroll in the UC system by first attending community colleges. Through this program, high school graduates who are at the top of their class but unable to meet all UC requirements are encouraged to apply to community college while being guaranteed a spot at a UC campus. According to Eisenman, the program is another way to deal with the limits on enrollment.

There has also been an overall decrease in freshman applicants from all ethnic groups, except for American Indian, Asian-American and Latino students. Black freshman applicants showed the largest drop with 7 percent fewer applications.

“”As far as the decline in African-American applicants, we don’t know why that occurred,”” Eisenman said. “”But UC’s outreach programs, which are designed for students, many of whom are African American, and provided college preparatory courses ‹ those efforts have diminished and are in peril due to budget cuts.””

UCSD received 1,242 applications from black students, compared to 1,417 applicants last year.

“”Clearly the drop in underrepresented students is systemwide, especially in African-Americans at the freshman level,”” Brown said. “”We’re concerned with the drops in underrepresented students and we’ll continue to analyze the data and see whether the drops are consistent with the system.””

The grade point average of freshman applicants slightly increased in most of the UC campuses along with S.A.T. I verbal and math scores.