January 24, 2007

Background Briefing

UC Santa Barbara Receives 48,728 Applications From Prospective Freshmen and Transfer Students

Christine Van Gieson

The University of California, Santa Barbara has received a record 48,728 applications for undergraduate admission to the campus for fall 2007.

Of this total:

40,894 applications were from prospective first-year students–1,066 more than last year.

7,834 were from applicants seeking to transfer to UCSB–231 fewer than last year.

The campus has a target enrollment of 4,200 first-year students for next fall and an estimated 1,475 transfer students. Decisions on freshman applications will be made by mid-March, and on transfer applications the following month.

The UC Office of the President today posted statistics on undergraduate applications to all UC campuses on its Web site at this address: http://www.ucop.edu/news/studstaff.html

Applicants for the Fall 2007 Freshman Class

The total number of applications received by UCSB for the freshman class is 1,066 more than last year, an increase of 2.7 percent. All campuses in the UC system experienced increases in undergraduate application numbers, with the exception of Riverside and Santa Cruz, whose numbers were down slightly. Over all, applications to the UC system increased 5.3 percent. The system saw increases from California residents, out-of-state applicants, and international students.
Applications to UCSB from students in the top 4 percent of their high school class make up 13 percent of the applicant pool, or 5,153. (The UC system, under its Eligibility in the Local Context program, guarantees that such students will be admitted, although not necessarily to their first-choice campus. However, for the past three years, UC Santa Barbara has guaranteed admission to these applicants provided they satisfactorily complete required senior-year courses and take required entrance exams.)
Over the past two years, freshman applications to UC campuses have increased by 14.5 percent. At UCSB over the same period, applications have increased 9.2 percent.
Of the 87,213 prospective freshmen who applied to one or more UC campuses this year, nearly half of them (46.9 percent) included UCSB among the campuses to which they applied.
Californians account for 92 percent of UCSB's undergraduate applicant pool.

Academic Quality of Prospective Freshmen

The academic quality of UCSB's applicant pool, as measured by grades and test scores, remains strong.
Of the 40,894 applicants for the entering class, 12,340, or 30.2 percent, have a high-school Grade Point Average (GPA) of 4.0 or higher – 307 more than last year.
The average GPA of all freshmen applicants is 3.71, identical to last year's record level.

The SAT exam was changed substantially for students applying to enroll in fall 2006 or later. Applicants now take the SAT Reasoning Test, which is made up of three sections: Reading, Mathematics, and Writing (as opposed to two sections, Math and Verbal, in the past). The average total score on the required SATR Test was 1756 out of a possible 2400, down 6 points from last year. The averages for the component parts were:

SATR Math: 603

SATR Reading: 575

SATR Writing: 578

Diversity of Applicants for the Freshman Class

Applications from members of underrepresented minority groups were up significantly. UCSB received a total of 9,096 freshman applications from African-American, American-Indian, and Chicano and Latino applicants, 704 more than last year. This total represents 22.2 percent of the applicant pool (vs. 21.1 percent the previous year). The number of American-Indian, African-American and Chicano and Latino applicants increased by between 3 percent (African-American) and 10.6 percent (Chicano).
49.6 percent of all applicants for the UCSB freshman class are members of a racial or ethnic minority group. (Individual applicants to UC are not identified to the campuses by race or ethnicity until after all admissions decisions are made.)

Transfer Applicants

The vast majority (6,968, or 88.9 percent) of the 7,834 applicants seeking to transfer to UCSB are enrolled in a California community college.
The total number of transfer applications was 231 fewer than last year, a decrease of 2.9 percent. All UC campuses except Berkeley experienced decreases in transfer applications.
Of the 6,968 transfer applications from California community college students, 1,433, or 20.6 percent, were from members of underrepresented minority groups, an increase over last year, when such applications accounted for 20.5 percent of the total.
Over the past two years, transfer applications to all UC campuses decreased 0.9 percent; at UCSB, the decrease over that same period was 8.2 percent.

About UC Santa Barbara

The University of California, Santa Barbara is a leading research institution that also provides a comprehensive liberal arts learning experience. Our academic community of faculty, students, and staff is characterized by a culture of interdisciplinary collaboration that is responsive to the needs of our multicultural and global society. All of this takes place within a living and learning environment like no other, as we draw inspiration from the beauty and resources of our extraordinary location at the edge of the Pacific Ocean.