Schools

Students Apply to UC Schools in Record Numbers

Both UCI and UCLA saw record enrollment applications this year despite climbing college costs.

At a time when tuitions at California’s public universities are higher than ever, so is the competition to get accepted.

Almost 70,000 people applied to UC Irvine for the fall 2012 quarter, a record number for the university, UCI officials announced. The 69,908 applications to UCI was the fourth-highest number among the University of California system's nine undergraduate campuses -- behind UCLA, (91,512), UC Berkeley and UC San Diego.

Systemwide, 160,939 applications -- the most ever -- were submitted, an
increase of 9.8 percent over 2011. UCI received 54,465 freshman applications and 15,443 transfer applications for the fall quarter -- a 10.5 percent jump from the previous year.
Freshman applications to UCI by California residents grew by about 10 percent from a year ago, to 47,491. The numerical gain of 4,304 was the largest in the UC system.
The number of out-of-state freshman applications to UCI rose by 48 percent, to 2,514, while overseas applications leaped by 93 percent to 4,460.

Find out what's happening in Los Alamitos-Seal Beachwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The application deadline was in November.

The number of applications at UCLA was 12.7 percent higher than last year, with an 18.1 percent jump in freshman applications and a 4.3 percent drop in
transfer applications, according to the school.

Find out what's happening in Los Alamitos-Seal Beachwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

``We are also pleased that despite severe state funding cuts and higher tuition, this is our most diverse applicant pool to date,'' said Janina Montero, UCLA's vice chancellor for student affairs and interim admissions director.

University officials noted that applications from Chicano/Latino students increased by 15.6 percent over last year, while those from black and American Indian students jumped by 13.7 percent and 12.9 percent, respectively. Asian American applications increased by 6.8 percent, while applications from white students dropped by 2.3 percent.

Freshman applications from out-of-state and international students increased by 57.8 percent.

``Out-of-state and international students are vital to a world-renowned institution like UCLA,'' Montero said. ``They increase our geographic diversity, bring new ideas and perspectives to campus and prepare our students to compete and work in a global economy.''

Admissions decisions for prospective freshmen were expected to be made by late March, and admitted students will have until May 1 to notify the university if they actually intend to enroll. Transfer students will be notified of their status by April 30 and will have until June 1 to decide if they plan to enroll.

- City News Service


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here