UCSD received a record number of 102,692 undergraduate applications for the 2016–2017 academic year. About 8.9 percent more students applied than last year, making UCSD the second among UC campuses, behind UCLA and ahead of UC Berkeley.
Both the freshman and transfer applicant pools were the largest in UCSD history, with 84,198 freshmen applicants and 18,474 transfer applicants, 7.9 percent and 14.1 percent more than the previous year’s applicant pools, respectively.
UCSD Chancellor Pradeep Khosla stated that he believes the increase demonstrates that UCSD is a top university given its many opportunities and credible education.
“We are pleased to yet again attract a talented and diverse applicant pool,” Khosla told UCSD News Center. “Our growing number of applicants every year is testament to UC San Diego’s stellar reputation for having outstanding academic programs, experiential learning opportunities and faculty of the highest caliber.”
Nearly half of the applications came from students living in two areas: Los Angeles, with 27,913 applicants, and San Francisco, with 13,698. Furthermore, over 85 percent of the university’s transfer applicants are students attending community colleges in California.
UCSD’s Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs Juan Gonzalez expressed his enthusiasm for the increase in transfer student applicants, deeming them critical to UCSD’s success.
“UC San Diego welcomes community college transfer students,” Gonzalez told UCSD News Center. “We are pleased a record number of transfer students, who had more time to file their applications this year, applied to our campus. Transfer students are vital members of the UC San Diego community.”
Among freshmen applicants, the most popular majors included social sciences, engineering and biology — a trend consistent with recent years. As for prospective transfer students, half applied as social science majors, followed by engineering and science majors. The average freshman applicant had a 3.81 GPA and an average SAT score of 1856, while the average transfer applicant had a 3.36 GPA.
Furthermore, the campus saw a rise in Latino/Mexican-American and African-American freshmen applicants by 10.1 percent and 9.2 percent, respectively. The transfer student applicant pool saw a similar increase, with 33.1 percent more African-American applicants, 23.5 percent more Native American applicants and 22.7 percent more Latino/Mexican-American applicants.
The UC system as a whole also received a record number of undergraduate applicants for the 12th straight year. Over 206,000 students applied to UC campuses, 6.4 percent more than last year.
