UC San Diego Receives Record Number of Applications for Fall 2012

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The University of California, San Diego has received a record 75,968 freshman and transfer applications for Fall 2012. The university received the second highest number of applications from California resident freshmen among the UC campuses.

Freshman applications were up 13.8 percent with a record 60,785 applicants.  Transfer student applications decreased 11 percent from 2011 with a total of 15,183 applications. The mean high school grade point average (GPA) is a 3.76; the average GPA among transfer applicants is 3.33.

“We’re pleased to receive another record number of applications from highly-qualified students from all backgrounds and cultures,” said Mae Brown, assistant vice chancellor and director of admissions at UC San Diego. “It’s especially exciting to see more California residents applying. Californians are a top priority for UC San Diego.”

Diversity among applicants continues to increase at the freshman level for Fall 2012, showing a 17.2 percent increase of underrepresented students. A total 2,803 African-American freshmen (up 28.3 percent from last year) applied. Applications from Latinos surged this year, with 2, 975 applicants from freshmen (up 15.6 percent). And applications from Mexican-American freshmen rose 14.7 percent from last year with 9,398 applications. In addition, 375 Native-American freshman students applied, up 15.7 percent from last year.

Freshman applicants from low-income families rose 21.6 percent and the number of first-generation freshman applicants is up 13.2 percent compared to Fall 2011.

The increase of underrepresented applicants can be attributed to UC San Diego’s extensive efforts to reach students and the university’s growing academic reputation and prestige, noted Brown. “Our outreach efforts continue to attract more talented students from many diverse backgrounds.”

In total, the University of California budget was cut by $750 million from the state of California for 2011-2012. The current budget takes UC back to a level of state funding equivalent to that set in the mid-eighties, when UC was serving 73,000 fewer students than the 235,000 today.

“These drastic cuts come at time when more Californian students are applying than ever,” Brown said. “We are concerned about the persistent decline in state funding and how it will affect access to higher education for our prospective hard-working and promising students.”

The University of California received a record number of applications for admission to the Fall 2012 term.  Overall application volume for Fall 2012 admission increased by 13.2 percent over Fall 2011 (from 142,235 to a record high of 160,939), which includes a 19.1 percent increase (from 106,070 to 126,299) at the freshman level, and a 4.2 percent decrease (from 36,165 to 34,640) at the transfer level.