The number of fall 2014 freshman applications to the University of California's nine undergraduate campuses rose for the 10th consecutive year, with increases ranging from 9.6 percent to 2 percent over the previous year. Chicanos-Latinos — the largest racial/ethnic group among state high school graduates — remained the largest ethnic group among California freshman applicants.
Systemwide, 183,272 students applied to at least one UC campus for fall 2014, an increase of 4.9 percent over the previous year; 148,450 of the applications were for freshman.
The number of Californian freshman applicants grew by 632 students — a 0.6 percent rise over 2013, for a total of 99,761 — despite a projected drop in the number of California high school graduates. This growth is a testament to the continued high demand for a UC education among Californians. There were 2,842 more domestic non-resident freshman applicants than the previous year, a 19 percent increase, while the additional 4,786 international freshman applicants made for an increase of 20.8 percent.
The overall number of transfer applicants to UC was down slightly from the previous admissions cycle — by 0.5 percent — although only one campus posted an actual decline in the number of applications. On average, California students, including transfer applicants, applied to approximately four UC campuses.
Among the California students who applied for freshman admission, applications from students who identified as white, African American or Pacific Islander were down slightly, while other ethnic groups grew in absolute numbers. Chicano-Latino students grew as a percentage of the total applicants, from 32.1 percent last year to 32.7 percent, making them the largest ethnic group among California freshman applicants for the second consecutive year.
The proportion of freshman applicants who indicated they would be the first in their families to graduate from college remained strong at 45.8 percent. Moreover, applicants from the state's most academically disadvantaged schools and from low-income families remained steady at 23.3 percent and 37.8 percent, respectively. These outcomes are consistent with the university's efforts to expand consideration for admission to a broad range of students.
Details about high school students applying for freshman admission and community college transfer applicants are posted at www.ucop.edu/news/studstaff.html. Information on campus applicant counts by level and residency is displayed in tables 2.2 and 2.3. Campus applicant counts by level and ethnicity are shown in tables 3.2 and 3.3.