UC Berkeley is admitting fewer freshmen
UC Berkeley admitted its smallest class of freshmen in three years this fall, even as the number of California residents invited to enroll grew by hundreds of students.
The numbers are included in the University of California’s latest admissions report for 2023, released Tuesday. Those admitted have known of their good fortune since spring.
Across all nine undergraduate campuses, UC offered coveted admission slots to 129,685 freshman applicants — about 4,000 more hopefuls than last year — and to 27,761 transfer students, roughly the same as last year. The number of students admitted is always larger than those who actually enroll, and admissions to individual schools add up to more than the UC total due to multiple offers.
This year’s invitations went to a record number of California residents, the university announced, including 88,285 freshmen — about 3,000 more than last year. In all, California residents represent 68% of those admitted this year.
“We’re pleased to support thousands more Californians who wish to pursue a higher education, benefiting themselves and communities across the state,” UC President Michael Drake said in a statement.
California taxpayers supplement UC tuition for state residents. As a result, they pay a base rate of $14,436 — although 55% qualify for enough additional aid to waive the entire amount. By contrast, nonresidents pay $48,636 in tuition and do not qualify for state aid. Including other expenses, mostly fees, room and board, books, and insurance, the total price tag is $42,000 for California students, and $76,000 for nonresidents.
In 2017, after years in which UC offered admission to increasing numbers of higher-paying nonresidents, the governing Board of Regents bowed to public pressure and capped out-of-state enrollment — not admissions — at 18%.
UC Berkeley too offered more freshman slots to California residents. The highly selective campus admitted 10,994 applicants this year, up nearly 5% from 2021. This year, more than three-quarters of the offers went to state residents. The fall semester begins Aug. 16.
Yet, freshman admissions offers to UC Berkeley have been declining. With nearly 126,000 students vying for a spot this year, the campus admitted just 14,566 of them, down 11% from two years ago and fractionally fewer than last year.
Those admitted were among the state’s brainiest high school students. Their unweighted gradepoint average was 3.92, and their weighted GPA was 4.44.
Among all the UC campuses, Santa Cruz admitted the largest number of freshmen: 43,159, a 39% increase from a year earlier.
Michelle Whittingham, head of enrollment at UC Santa Cruz, said the campus is able to expand because of new money from the state budget.
“We are very grateful for the additional capacity,” Whittingham said, noting that the campus will be able to accommodate an additional 733 instate freshmen.
UCLA admitted the fewest number of applicants, just 12,779. That’s roughly the same as last year, but a 15% plunge from 2021.
Overall, UC reported a 4% increase in the admission of underrepresented minority applicants.
Of those, nearly 38% were Latino, about the same as in 2021, even as UC admitted nearly 2,000 more Latinos this year, for a total of 33,198.
Black student admissions have held steady at about 5%, with 247 more applicants admitted this year than in 2021: 4,855.
And while about 1% of admissions have gone to Native students each year since 2021, their numbers also rose by nearly 200 students this year, to 576. The university credited its Native American Opportunity Plan scholarship program for the boost.
Drake also touted UC’s commitment to “ensuring that students of all backgrounds have a chance to attend one of our excellent undergraduate campuses.”
At UC Berkeley, the number of Native students admitted has been in the double digits in recent years. Admissions offers to Black students typically hover around 500. Offers to Latino applicants rose to 3,323 this year, up by 346 since last year.
“We know that academic talent can be found in all communities and settings, and we value bringing together a diverse class of students,” Jocelyn De Jong, UC Berkeley’s director of undergraduate enrollment, said in a statement.
UC Riverside admitted the largest number of Black students — 1,647 — while UCLA admitted the largest proportion of Black students, at 8%.