UC Sets Record on Freshman Enrollees for Fall

The number of freshmen planning to enroll at University of California campuses this fall is up more than 4,000 students from last year, in what UC officials described as a record-setting, but largely expected, gain.

About 37,000 students -- 55% of those offered admission for the fall -- have sent in deposits and submitted paperwork to secure their spots in the university’s next freshman class, UC officials announced Wednesday.

The additional freshmen are part of a planned overall increase of about 5,000 students next year, including some transfer and graduate students.

But the story on individual UC campuses was less predictable, with some surpassing their freshman enrollment targets and one -- the university’s newest location near Merced -- falling well short of its goal.

Perhaps the most dramatic difference between the expected and actual numbers for prospective freshmen came at UC Davis, which is scrambling to accommodate about 5,900 students, nearly 900 more than anticipated.

UC Davis officials said the campus is planning to provide extra classes, asking freshmen to triple up in dorm rooms, and urging upperclassmen to consider taking summer courses to help make room for the bumper crop of newcomers.

“We’re asking our new students and others for understanding, patience and flexibility,” Fred Wood, interim vice provost for undergraduate studies, said in a statement.

Two other campuses, UC San Diego and UC Irvine, each had about 300 more students than expected accept their offers, said UC spokesman Ricardo Vazquez.

At most other UC campuses, including UCLA, the figures were very close to projections, he said.

But at UCLA, administrators and faculty expressed continued concern about the shrinking numbers of African American freshmen.

Although the figures released show a continued upswing in the numbers of black, Latino and Native American students planning to attend UC campuses in the fall, UCLA has just 96 African Americans planning to attend in a freshman class of about 4,800.

UC Merced, which opened last September as the UC system’s first new campus in four decades and the first in the San Joaquin Valley, faces other challenges.

So far, about 450 prospective freshmen have said they plan to attend UC Merced in the fall, short of the school’s goal of 700 to 800, and the current year’s figure of about 800.

UC and UC Merced officials attributed the unexpectedly low response in part to the decision by other UC schools to increase their admissions for the fall, giving the young Merced school tough competition from campuses with more resources.

The low numbers may offer a silver lining for some students. UC Merced spokeswoman Sheryl Lichtig Wyan said the campus is giving admitted students at least two more months to respond to their offers for the fall. On a case-by-case basis, it also will consider new freshman applications for the fall, she said.