BACKGROUND BRIEFING UC Santa Barbara Receives 58,992 Applications for Fall 2010 From Prospective Freshmen and Transfer Students

The University of California, Santa Barbara has received 58,992 applications for undergraduate admission for fall 2010. The total is 4,234 more than last year, an increase of 7.7 percent.

Of the total:

• 46,672 applications were from prospective first-year students –– 1,999 more than last year.

• 12,320 were from applicants seeking to transfer to UCSB –– 2,235 more than last year.

The UC Office of the President today posted statistics on undergraduate applications to all UC campuses on its Web site at this address:

https://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/infocenter/admissions-residency-….

Despite California Department of Finance projections that high school graduation rates in 2010 would remain the same as in 2009, the UC system received a record 134,029 applications –– 100,320 from freshman applicants and 33,709 from transfer applicants.

All nine UC undergraduate campuses experienced increases at both levels.

At UC Santa Barbara, campus leaders acknowledge the challenges posed by such a large applicant pool, especially after having absorbed far more freshmen and transfer students this year than had been projected. Nonetheless, they say UCSB will work diligently to ensure that the size of next fall's entering class does not adversely affect the quality of the educational experience offered to students or prevent students from enrolling in the classes they want and need.

Because of the large enrollment this year, UC Santa Barbara has a target enrollment of 3,900 first-year students for next fall, 200 fewer than last year's target, and 1,450 transfer students, 250 fewer than last year. The combined targets for fall 2010 represent an outright decrease of about 650 students from the number who actually enrolled in fall 2009.

The campus's director of admissions, Christine Van Gieson, said she was extremely pleased by the academic quality and diversity of this year's applicant pool. "We have to applaud all the great work being done by our faculty and staff to get the word out about UC Santa Barbara and its outstanding programs," she said.

Applicants for the Fall 2010 Freshman Class

• The total number of applications received by UCSB for the freshman class is 1,999 greater than last year, an increase of 4.5 percent. All campuses in the UC system experienced increases in applications from prospective first-year students this year. Over all, freshman applications to the UC system increased 2.4 percent. The system saw increases from California residents, out-of-state applicants, and international students.
• Of the 100,320 prospective freshmen applying to one or more UC campuses this year, close to half of them (46.5 percent) included UCSB among the campuses to which they applied.

•  

  Californians account for 91 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 46,672 applicants for the entering class, 15,553, or 33 percent, have a high-school Grade Point Average (GPA) of 4.0 or higher.
• The average GPA of all freshman applicants is 3.74, up from last year's 3.71.
• The average total score on the three-part SAT exam was 1,752, up 13 points from 1,739 last year.

Diversity of Applicants for the Fall 2010 Freshman Class

• Over all, applications from members of underrepresented minority groups were up. UCSB received a total of 13,512 freshman applications from African-American, American-Indian, and Chicano and Latino applicants, 1,369 more than last year, an increase of 11.3 percent.

   

  This total represents 29 percent of the applicant pool (vs. 27.2 percent the previous year).

• 56.33 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 all admission decisions have been made.)

Transfer Applicants

• 90 percent of the 12,320 applicants seeking to transfer to UCSB are enrolled in a California community college.
• The total number of transfer applications was 2,235 more than last year, an increase of 22.2 percent. All nine UC undergraduate campuses saw an increase in transfer applications.
• A total of 2,830 transfer applications were received from members of underrepresented minority groups, a 29.7 percent increase over last year. Members of underrepresented minority groups accounted for 23 percent of all transfer applicants this year.
• Over the past two years, transfer applications to all UC campuses increased 30.6 percent; at UCSB, the increase over that same period was 39.3 percent.