The University of California released a report of its admission statistics for fall 2008 on Monday morning, which included tables and information breaking down admission rates by campus, gender, income group and ethnic demographics.
The statistics reflect record high numbers of freshman and transfer applicants as well as an increase at many campuses in the number of students admitted from both non-minority and underrepresented backgrounds. Over-enrollment in previous years prevented some campuses, such as UC Irvine, from making large admission increases, said Susan Wilbur, the director of undergraduate admissions for the University of California.
Though the actual number of students admitted to the UC system increased by 2,690 from 2007 to 2008, the accepted percentage of the applicant pool decreased as a result of the larger number of applications received. Only 75.3 percent were accepted for fall 2008, in comparison to the 77.4 percent of applicants in fall 2007 because of the increase in applications received. UCLA accepted 22.1 percent of its applications.
Both the number and percentage of minority students admitted to UCLA and across the UC system increased from the past year.
Despite the discrepancy between a large increase in applications for all UCs and a lack of funding, Wilbur said the university was able to uphold its commitment to admitting every qualified California student to at least one UC.
But both Wilbur and Vu Tran, director of Undergraduate Admissions and Relations with Schools, also said they are concerned about limitations that the budget cuts will place on the university in the future.
“UCLA and (the) UC as a whole cannot sustain the number of new enrollees if funding from the state of California is not available,” Tran said.
The 60,008 students admitted does not include the 8,450 students who did not get in to the universities they applied to but were given the opportunity to enroll in either UC Riverside or UC Merced.
One of the goals of the University of California has been to increase the diversity of its student population. As a whole, 25.1 percent of the students admitted were underrepresented students from an American Indian, black or Chicano/Latino background. The figure is an increase from the 22.9 percent admitted in 2007.
Of the 10,319 students admitted to UCLA, 19.4 percent identified as part of an underrepresented minority, which is 1.9 percent greater than the year before.
Both Wilbur and Tran said the larger numbers of minority students accepted reflect the larger representation of minorities in the application pool.
Tran also said the increase could be attributed to the holistic admissions process, which is designed to help all disadvantaged students, regardless of their ethnic backgrounds. The university adopted the policy two years ago.
Holistic admissions requires admissions officers to take circumstances that could have affected an individual’s academic success into account.
“This gives students from a disadvantaged background a better chance of being recognized because we recognize their achievements within the opportunities presented and (pay attention to) how they maximized those opportunities,” Tran said.
But, though Tran said he is pleased with this year’s increase, he believes long-term success will be achieved through reforms in the primary education systems in order for public school students to be better prepared for higher education.
“Holistic admissions is not the final resolution for all the issues that face underrepresented minorities,” Tran said.
Alejandro Reyes, the vice president of the Latin American Student Association, said he is pleased with the increase in minority students admitted to UCLA and the other UCs. Reyes has worked with the group on a program called Projecting Minds that helps elementary students in Los Angeles from low-income and minority backgrounds succeed in school.
“I definitely believe that (the programs that) LASA and other organizations put on are helping the community and helping the minority students get in,” Reyes said.
To continue recruiting minority students, Reyes said he believes the university should improve its programs designed to help underrepresented students at UCLA and work with organizations that have projects within the community.
“I definitely believe that there should be more support for organizations who are going out into the community and going into lower-income communities to help them have better resources to get to higher education,” Reyes said.
Tran said the university has worked with alumni and outreach organizations to encourage applications from student minority communities.
But, he added, budget cuts could restrict its ability to admit students from all backgrounds.
Despite financial problems, Wilbur said that, given the increasing quality and rates of applications, she does not expect interest in the UC to subside any time soon.
“We expect to see strong applicant pools continue for the future,” Wilbur said.