BACKGROUND BRIEFING UC Santa Barbara Receives 55,871 Applications From Prospective Freshmen and Transfer Students

The University of California, Santa Barbara has received a record 55,871 applications for undergraduate admission to the campus for fall 2008. The total is 7,143 more than last year – the largest one-year increase in applications that UCSB has ever recorded.

Of this total:

• 47,025 applications were from prospective first-year students–6,131 more than last year.

• 8,846 were from applicants seeking to transfer to UCSB–1,012 more than last year.

The campus has a target enrollment of 4,200 first-year students for next fall and an estimated 1,400 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

A growing recognition of the academic excellence of UC Santa Barbara and its programs is seen as the principal reason for the surge in applications, according to Admissions Director Christine VanGieson. She noted that the overall increase in applications is part of a national trend, as many top institutions have seen a spike in their application numbers. "But in our case, the campus's outstanding academic offerings and the achievements of our faculty are what help attract the interest of more and more prospective students," she said.

Applicants for the Fall 2008 Freshman Class

• The total number of applications received by UCSB for the freshman class is 6,131 more than last year, an increase of 15 percent. All campuses in the UC system experienced increases in undergraduate application numbers. Over all, applications to the UC system increased 9.2 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 14 percent of the applicant pool, or 6,481. (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 four 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 14.9 percent. At UCSB over the same period, applications have increased 18.1 percent.
• Of the 95,201 prospective freshmen who applied to one or more UC campuses this year, nearly half of them (49.4 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 47,025 applicants for the entering class, 14,584, or 31 percent, have a high-school Grade Point Average (GPA) of 4.0 or higher – 2,247 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 1744 out of a possible 2400, down 12 points from last year. The averages for the component parts were:

SATR Math: 598

SATR Reading: 570

SATR Writing: 576

Diversity of Applicants for the Freshman Class

• Applications from members of underrepresented minority groups were up significantly. UCSB received a total of 12,010 freshman applications from African-American, American-Indian, and Chicano and Latino applicants, 2,853 more than last year, a 31.2 percent increase. This total represents 25.5 percent of the applicant pool (vs. 22.2 percent the previous year).
• 52.7 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 (7,834, or 88.6 percent) of the 8,846 applicants seeking to transfer to UCSB are enrolled in a California community college.
• The total number of transfer applications was 1,012 more than last year, an increase of 12.9 percent. All UC campuses experienced increases in transfer applications.
• Of the 7,834 transfer applications from California community college students, 1,602 or 20.5 percent were from members of underrepresented minority groups, an increase of 169 such applicants over last year.
• Over the past two years, transfer applications to all UC campuses increased 7.8 percent; at UCSB, the increase over that same period was 9.7 percent.