The University of California received a record number of applications for fall 2007, including an increased number of applications from underrepresented minority students, whose drop in enrollment at some campuses has triggered student rallies and community concerns in recent years.
This year, there was a 3.9-percent increase in applicants to the UC system, with 110,994 students applying to the nine undergraduate UC campuses, eclipsing last year’s previous record high of 106,784. A total of 87,213 students applied for freshman standing, a 5.3 percent increase from last year. However, there was a 0.7 percent decrease among transfer applicants.
The percentage of students applying online has increased dramatically within the past five years, from 44 percent in 2002 to 99 percent this year.
UCSD’s applicant pool reflects systemwide trends, with a 3.4 percent growth in freshman applicants. The campus received 45,040 freshman applications for fall 2007, an increase of 1,454 students from the previous year. In the UC system, the number of UCSD’s freshman applicants is second only to UCLA.
Assistant Vice Chancellor of Admissions and Registration Mae W. Brown said that campus officials were pleased with the overall increase in applicants.
According to Brown, the increase in applicants can be attributed, in part, to the increase of high school graduates meeting the University of California’s “”a-g”” eligibility requirements, coupled with the university’s continued efforts to visit high schools and recruit students throughout the state.
The latest admissions numbers show an increase in the number of underrepresented students for fall 2007, which jumped 6 percent since last year. The number of black applicants to UCSD rose 3.7 percent this year. Currently, blacks account for only 1 percent of the freshman class.
The percentage of Filipino and Latino applicants increased even more dramatically, with growths of 5.4 percent and 7.2 percent, respectively.
Despite the overall increase in applications and the growth of applicants in underrepresented-ethnicity demographics, the number of transfer applicants still slightly decreased this year.
“”The decrease in transfer applicants is a systemwide concern for the UC schools,”” Brown said. “”We are very disappointed with the numbers and are investigating to see what might be occurring to cause this decline.””
UC Office of the President spokesman Ricardo Vazquez said that the decrease in transfer applicants may have been influenced by the leveling off of community college enrollment since 2004. The university’s campuses are undertaking initiatives collectively and individually in order to attract more transfer students, he said.
Brown said that UCSD is currently striving to attract more transfer students, and is currently working on creating a resource center and library for students transferring to UCSD.
Despite the slight setback in transfer applicants, the report reflected an overall view of an increasingly competitive, and popular, university system. At UCSD, the average weighted GPA of applicants was 3.76, and the average combined SAT critical reading and math score was 1217.
“”In particular, we are delighted with the continued academic strengths in our applicant pool,”” Vazquez said.
