UC San Diego Offers Admission to 24,552 Freshmen for Fall 2014 Quarter

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Admitted students participating in a campus tour during the campus’s annual Triton Day, full-day program for admitted freshman students and their families to learn firsthand about the opportunities available at UC San Diego. Photo by Erik Jepsen/UC San Diego Publications

The University of California, San Diego has admitted 24,552 freshmen for the fall 2014 term. The new freshmen were selected from a record 73,437 applications. The university anticipates enrolling a diverse freshman class of 4,900 of students.

Of the admitted UC San Diego students, the average GPA is 4.13 (up from 4.11 last year) and the average SAT Reasoning scores are 651, 699 and 668, respectively, for Critical Reading, Math and Writing, also up from last year’s scores of 642, 692 and 659.

“We are proud to welcome this bright and dynamic group of students to UC San Diego,” said Chancellor Pradeep K. Khosla. “As a student-centered public university, it is our goal to provide opportunities and a world-class education to these amazingly accomplished and talented students from diverse backgrounds.”

In comparison to last year’s numbers, UC San Diego admitted more students who are the first in their family to attend college (up 9.3 percent). Also, students from 4th and 5th quintile high schools had an increase of 15.1 percent––4th and 5th quintile schools are considered low performing high schools based on their Academic Performance Index (API) from the California Department of Education.

In addition, UC San Diego admitted 4,168 historically underrepresented students, up 4.1 percent from fall 2013, with largest increase of 8.1 percent coming from Chicano/Latino students, the fastest growing ethnic group among California high school graduates. Data also indicates less African-American applicants were admitted this year compared to last year.

The admitted class for 2014 is geographically diverse, representing a broad range of California residents as well as out-of-state and international residents. The majority of admitted students are California residents. The largest percentage of the admitted freshmen (9,471or 38.6 percent) is from Southern California and the second largest group (6,281 or 25.6 percent) is from San Francisco and other areas of California, while the remaining 35 percent of admits are from outside California. However, it is important to note that California residents accept offers of admission to UC San Diego at a much higher rate than nonresident admitted students. It is expected that about 82 percent of enrolled UC San Diego undergraduates in 2014-15 will be California residents.

The most popular majors chosen by this class are in biology, the social sciences and engineering.

More females than males were admitted for fall 2014. UC San Diego recorded 12,626 (51.4 percent) females compared to 11,539 (47 percent) males with 1.6 percent of admitted students not responding to this question.

UC San Diego will continue to build upon its efforts to increase diversity on campus through outreach efforts as well as enhanced yield initiatives – programs that encourage students to accept their offers admission. These programs include:

• Early Calling Campaigns – The campus hosts several calling campaigns to notify admitted students from traditionally underrepresented student populations and encourage their acceptance. These calling campaigns are conducted by members of the Black Student Union, Jacobs School of Engineering diversity groups, Student Promoted Access Center for Education and Services (SPACES) and other groups.
• Triton Day – A full-day program for admitted freshman students and their families to learn firsthand about the opportunities available at UC San Diego. This year’s Triton Day was attended by more than 20,000 students and their families.
• Overnight Programs for Newly Admitted Students – The campus hosts a series of overnight programs various student groups such as the Student Promoted Access Center for Education and Services (SPACES); the Black Student Union (BSU); the Jacobs School of Engineering Inclusion, Diversity, Excellence and Advancement (IDEA) Student Center; and the Regents Scholar Society. These programs provide admitted students from diverse backgrounds an overnight experience hosted by a current UC San Diego student. Features of the program include resources on academic and student support services as well as social activities outside of the classroom.
• Campus Community Group Sessions – These welcome sessions invite admitted African American, Chicano/Latino, Native American, Pilipino and South East Asian students and their families to visit the campus to meet with faculty, staff and alumni and learn what it is like to attend UC San Diego.

Admitted freshmen have until May 1 to indicate whether they will attend UC San Diego. For information on University of California system-wide admissions data, visit the UCOP website.