In-state UC applicants make slight gains, but slip at UCLA, Berkeley

California high school seniors had a slightly easier time this year in winning a freshman seat somewhere in the University of California system, according to a report released Friday.

But it became noticeably more difficult at the most coveted campuses, such as UCLA, UC Berkeley, UC Irvine and UC San Diego, the report stated.

The share of California applicants who were offered a space on at least one of UC’s nine undergraduate campuses was 61.2%, up from 60.6% last year, the UC statistics showed.

That meant that 61,120 of the 99,890 state residents who applied were admitted to the UC system for the upcoming fall term, a modest increase from 60,089 for fall 2013.

Overall, the number of in-state applicants increased by 758, or less than 1%, from last year.

Competition was especially strong at UCLA and UC Berkeley. Only 16.3% of state residents who applied were offered a spot at UCLA and 18.8% at UC Berkeley. Last year the rate was 17.4% at UCLA and 21.4% at Berkeley.

The other rates for Californians ranged from 30.2% at the San Diego campus to 65.9% at Merced. The acceptance rates for Californians were down at six of the nine campuses, but increases at Davis, Riverside and Santa Cruz more than compensated for that.

Typically, students apply to three or four UC campuses, using the same online application form.

More students from other states and other countries were offered UC admission: 12,840 from other states, up 8.9% from last year, and 12,905 international students, 17.6% more than last year.

However, their admission rates fell since so many more non-Californians applied this year. Forty nine percent of applicants from other states were accepted, down from 53.8% last year, and 57.1% of foreign applicants were accepted, down from 58.2%.

Students from outside California pay much higher tuition than state residents do. Asian Americans once again comprised the largest ethnic group among students admitted to at least one UC campus: 36.2%. Latinos were 28.8%, whites 26.8% and blacks 4.2%.

larry.gordon@latimes.com

Twitter: @larrygordonlat