The University of California, Santa Barbara has offered a place in its fall 2008 entering class to a total of 23,140 high school seniors. The prospective UCSB freshmen were selected from a total of 47,025 applicants – the most in UCSB history. The campus expects its fall 2008 entering class to number approximately 4,200.
Both the academic qualifications and the diversity of the class of applicants accepted by UCSB are at record high levels. Average high-school grades and scores on standardized tests are all higher than last year, and half of all admitted students are members of a racial or ethnic minority group, more than ever before.
Applications from 8,846 students seeking to transfer to UC Santa Barbara are still under review, with decisions to be announced in May. The campus expects to enroll some 1,400 transfer students in the fall.
All of the UC undergraduate campuses are releasing admissions statistics today. The UC Office of the President is posting systemwide statistics on its Web site at http://www.ucop.edu/news/factsheets/fall2008adm.html
UCSB freshman acceptance letters were mailed in mid-March, when applicants could also check their admission status via a protected Web site. Applicants who have been accepted by any UC campus have until May 1 to submit a Statement of Intent to Register.
Since the admission offers went out, UCSB officials and faculty and staff members have been working diligently to ensure that the class the campus enrolls in the fall is its most talented and diverse ever. During March, Chancellor Henry Yang served as the host of several successful and well-attended UCSB receptions in the Bay Area, Orange County, and Los Angeles for high-achieving applicants and their family members to discuss UCSB and its programs and opportunities.
The average high school Grade Point Average of the applicants admitted by UCSB was 4.03, compared with 3.98 last year. The average total score on the required SATR Test was 1872 out of a possible 2400, up from 1866 last year. The averages for the three component parts were: SATR Math, 638; SATR Reading, 614; SATR Writing, 620.
Of all applicants admitted to UCSB, 49.9 percent identified themselves as members of a racial or ethnic minority group – up from 47.2 percent last year. Individual applicants to UC are not identified to the campuses by race or ethnicity until after all admission decisions are made.
Of those admitted, 92.3 percent, or 21,367, are enrolled in California high schools, and among those students, members of underrepresented minority groups (African-American, American Indian, and Chicano and Latino students) account for 24.5 percent, up from 21.6 percent last year. The total number of California applicants from all underrepresented minority groups combined who were accepted by UCSB was 5,246, or 802 more than last year, an increase of 18 percent. The 4,408 Chicano and Latino applicants accepted were 635 more than last year. The number of African-American students admitted was 191 more than last year. American Indian applicants who were accepted totaled 24 fewer than the previous year.
UCSB faculty and staff members as well as students and alumni are now involved in a variety of activities aimed at making personal contact with applicants who have been accepted, talking to them about the campus and the opportunities it offers. At the weekend receptions hosted by Chancellor Yang last month, volunteers from the campus met with applicants and their family members to discuss UC Santa Barbara and answer questions about its academic programs, student life, financial aid, and other topics.
Christine Van Gieson, director of admissions, encouraged admitted students to now visit the campus. "We enjoy welcoming them to the campus, especially during April," she said. "This is an exciting and important time for accepted students and their families, as students explore their college choices and prepare to make important decisions about their future."
Several thousand visited the UCSB campus last Saturday, April 12, during the annual Spring Insight Open House. Activities during the day include presentations by each of the three UC Santa Barbara colleges as well as faculty lectures, student panels, and information sessions on financial aid, summer orientation, student activities and organizations, and other topics.
Contact Information
UCSB Director of Admissions: Christine Van Gieson, (805) 893-3641
Admissions Office Press Contact: Chuck Champlin, (805) 893-3493
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