According to data released last week, UCSD, which ranked third in the UC system in the number of applications received, admitted 22,939 students, or 37.7 percent of the 60,000+ applications for Fall 2012. UCSD had the fourth most selective admission rate, after UC Berkeley, UCLA and UC Irvine.
UC Irvine overshot UCSD in selectivity for applications from the class of 2016. According to an April 17 statement on the UCI website, the university chose to adhere to a strict admissions guideline which may have led to its increased selectivity. UC Irvine’s average GPA for admitted students matched that of UCSD.
“Fewer incoming freshmen were admitted [to UC Irvine] for Fall 2012 than for Fall 2011 — by design, as the campus aligns its student population with state funding targets,” the statement read.
The average GPA of students admitted to UCSD was 4.07, a drop from the 4.09 GPA for students admitted for Fall 2011. The average SAT I score was 1991 total and 1330 for math and reading combined.
A record number of applicants were accepted to at least one UC campus for the academic year beginning Fall 2012.
Of the 126,000 applicants to UC schools, nearly 64 percent, or 80,000 students, received at least one offer of admission. Last year, 72,432 were accepted.
“We have the capacity to educate many more students at our campuses,” UC interim Director of Undergraduate Admissions Kate Jeffery said in a April 17 press release.
The class of 2016 was the first class exempt from taking SAT II subject tests — the result of a 2009 policy change.
According to a statement on the UC Office of the President website, this policy change was enacted to create a more holistic process for determining admissions and to increase diversity.
The admissions data released April 17 showed an increase in minority admissions across the board. In addition, every campus except UC Berkeley accepted more out-of-state and international students than in 2011. At UCSD, non-California residents accounted for 32.7 percent of admitted students.
According to an April 17 UCSD press release, 52 percent of admitted students are female.
Admission rates for Native Americans jumped to 119 from 77 last year, and figures for African American and Hispanic students also rose compared to 2010 data.