The University of California admitted the largest and most diverse class in its history for fall 2024, including big jumps in admission offers to California students, community college transfers, and students from groups historically underrepresented in higher education.
According to newly released preliminary data, UC offered admission to two out of every three applicants overall, with nearly 167,000 students offered a spot at one of the university’s nine undergraduate campuses.
“These admissions numbers demonstrate the University of California’s commitment to expanding opportunity and access, especially for historically underrepresented groups, who comprise the largest-ever share of first-year students,” said University of California President Michael V. Drake, M.D. “We’re setting more California students on the path to a college degree and future success, and that translates to positive impact on communities throughout the state.”
An admissions bumper crop
Record admissions numbers for the 2024–25 school year include 137,200 first-year students and 29,506 transfers, for a total of 166,706 undergraduates. Admission offers to California resident first-years surged 4.3 percent over 2023. The rise is part of a yearslong effort to expand educational opportunities for California students. In fact, the number of admitted California first-years has increased by 50 percent since 2014.
Overall, the systemwide acceptance rate for California first-year students increased by two percentage points from 2023, rising to 70 percent.
Closing opportunity gaps
UC also made more admission offers to California first-year students from groups historically underrepresented in higher education, including African American, American Indian, Pacific Islander and Latino students. Admission offers to underrepresented students rose to 45.4 percent, a number that has steadily increased over the past several years.
Latino students comprised the largest demographic group of first-year students admits, at 38.6 percent. The number of admission offers to African American students also increased this year, by almost 10 percent. In keeping with the upward trends, the proportion of admitted California students who would be the first in their family to earn a four-year college degree rose to 43.1 percent.
Dovetailing with a significant jump in applications from California community college (CCC) students following pandemic-driven declines, admission offers to CCC transfer students increased by almost 8 percent over last year. The proportion of admitted CCC transfer students from underrepresented groups climbed to 37.9 percent.
This is the first admissions cycle since the U.S. Supreme Court struck down affirmative action in June 2023. However, California’s Proposition 209 banned the consideration of race in admissions 28 years ago within the state. As a result, UC has long led the way in using a comprehensive admissions review process to comply with the law while continuing to increase diverse student applications, admissions, enrollment, and retention. In 2021, UC stopped considering SAT or ACT test scores when making admissions decisions. Data show that UC’s test-free policy has produced positive student outcomes, including a 92 percent first-year retention rate. These results mirror student success rates achieved under UC’s previous admissions policy, which required standardized test scores for all first-year applicants.
Han Mi Yoon-Wu, UC’s associate vice provost for Undergraduate Admissions, reflected on the 2024 admissions results: “The university’s holistic admissions process, combined with our campuses’ deliberate work with high schools, community colleges, and community-based organizations, has helped highly qualified prospective students from all backgrounds plan and prepare for admission to our world-class campuses.”
Gains for low-income students
In a year that saw major challenges associated with the rollout of the federal government’s revamped Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), the proportion of low-income California admits also grew to 40.7 percent. It’s a welcome sign that California students continue to view a world-class UC education as affordable and within reach, regardless of socioeconomic status.
The university took a number of steps to help students with the troubled FAFSA rollout. First, UC was one of the first systems to extend the deadline for first-year students to accept their admissions offers. Second, campuses offered continued flexibility for students facing ongoing problems submitting their financial aid form. Third, UC moved its own financial aid deadlines in concert with the State of California. Finally, financial aid staff across the system put in extra time to get students the information they needed to make an informed decision.
In partnership with federal and state governments, UC provides one of the most robust financial aid programs in the nation. In fact, more than half of UC’s California undergraduates pay no tuition at all, and students with family incomes of up to $226,000 receive money for school through California’s Middle Class Scholarship and other programs.
Goals for California
UC has set its sights on growing enrollment, serving more students — and more diverse students — every year. Working in partnership with state lawmakers, the university has mapped out an ambitious agenda of equity-centered change to better serve California students, dubbed the “2030 goals.”
Adopted in 2015, the goals include boosting graduation rates to 90 percent from the current 86 percent (already high among public research universities) and eliminating academic disparities that disproportionately affect low-income, underrepresented and first-generation college students. Nine years into the work, UC is on track to produce 1.2 million undergraduate and graduate degree holders by 2030, a 20 percent increase since 2014.
“We are thrilled that the University of California continues to be a destination of choice for our state’s incredibly accomplished and diverse students,” said Yoon-Wu. “This success has been further bolstered by the university’s unwavering commitment to transforming the aspirations of California students into UC admissions offers.”
