November 9, 1998

UC expects record number of freshmen applications

By Terry L. Colvin
UC Office of the President

The University of California anticipates receiving a record number of applications from California high school seniors seeking admission to one of the eight general-education campuses next year during the annual application period that began November 1 and runs through November 30.

According to the state Department of Education, there are nearly 20,000 more high school seniors this year, which could translate into more than 2,000 additional applications on top of the record 61,500 UC received last year, university admissions officials said.

Also, based on the number of electronic applications, which have been available over the Internet since September, UC admissions officers expect more than 10 percent of this year's applicants to submit their paperwork electronically over the World Wide Web.

According to the latest numbers, some 6,000 prospective students have downloaded the UC application from the university's Internet application center, Pathways.

"Every indicator points to a record number of applications from high school seniors this fall," said UC President Richard C. Atkinson. "This translates into increased competition for the roughly 27,000 openings we will have for freshmen for fall 1999."

Atkinson said that while competition for admission will be stiff, especially at Berkeley and UCLA, the university continues its guarantee that every qualified student will be admitted to one of its campuses. Additionally, UC remains committed through its outreach efforts to admitting a freshman class at each campus that reflects the ethnic and social diversity of the state's population.

"I can't emphasize enough how important it is for all students who believe themselves to be qualified for admission to apply to the campuses they'd like to attend. UC welcomes your application and will make every effort to accommodate the aspirations of all qualified students," the president said.

To meet UC's minimum admission requirements, applicants

• must be among the top 12.5 percent of all California high school seniors (equal to approximately a 3.3 grade point average);
• must have completed high school course work to meet the university's "a-f" subject requirements;
• and must take the Scholastic Assessment Test I (SAT) or the ACT Assessment and the SAT II subject tests. Students whose GPA is less than 3.3 but more than 2.81 can qualify for admission by achieving a required minimum score on the SAT or ACT, according to the UC Eligibility Index.

At campuses that receive more applications than they can accommodate, additional admissions criteria above the minimum requirements will be applied. Between 50 and 75 percent of the freshmen class on those campuses will be selected on the basis of grades, test scores and academic promise. The remaining students will be chosen by grades, test scores and additional criteria set by the campus, including potential to contribute to the university's educational environment and intellectual vitality.

"Because the level of competition for admission to certain campuses and programs is very high, students should consider applying to more than one campus or program," said Carla Ferri, UC statewide admissions director. "You may not receive your first choice, but if you are qualified, you will be admitted to a campus where you can fulfill your educational goals."

While applications are available from the university and through high school counselors, the quickest way to obtain one is over the World Wide Web through PATHWAYS. In addition to the online application, students can also download the application to a printer, fill it out, and return it by mail.

Students who chose the electronic application may work on it at school, home, the library, or from any computer connected to the Internet. Instructions for completing the online application and filing it are available at the website.

The application fee of $40 per campus is the same whether a student applies through the mail or over the World Wide Web. Mail-in applicants must enclose their fees with their application but online applicants will be billed by the university.

PATHWAYS is more than an electronic filing center. At the Web site, prospective students, parents, and counselors can find information on all aspects of a UC education, including profiles of the campuses and information about fees, financial aid, academic programs, on-campus living, and social life.

UC officials are also hoping to see an increase in the number of community college transfers, who also must file for admission during November. Slightly more than 10,000 transfer students enrolled at UC this fall, with about 8,600 coming from one of the state's community colleges. Transfer numbers have declined since 1993.

Hoping to counter that trend, UC and the California Community Colleges entered into an agreement last year to increase transfers by more than a third, to 14,500 students by 2005-2006.

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