Applications to UC Rise to Record Level

The University of California announced Wednesday that it received a record number of applications for undergraduate admissions for fall 1998, with the number of black and Latino applicants rising as well, despite the controversy over ending affirmative action.

By the Nov. 30 application deadline, about 76,500 students had sought admission as undergraduates at eight UC campuses, according to UC officials.

High school seniors and others applying to be freshmen accounted for about 59,000 of the applications, an 8% increase over the figures for fall 1997 admission and the largest one-year increase in a decade.

The number of African American freshman applicants increased 4.9% and the number of such Latinos 7% over the number seeking admission for fall 1997.

In addition to the applications for next fall’s freshman classes, UC campuses received about 17,000 applications from students seeking to transfer from other institutions of higher education.

The figures released Wednesday reflect increases in overall undergraduate applications at all the prestigious university system’s campuses, including its two flagships. Applications were up 9.8% at UCLA and 11.4% at Berkeley. At UC Irvine, applications for the next freshman class were up 12.3%.

“These significant increases in applications at every campus are testament to UC’s high quality and strong appeal,” said UC President Richard Atkinson.

“The increases are particularly heartening in light of our efforts to provide continued educational opportunity and access for California students of all backgrounds.”

But although UC officials were buoyed by the figures, they cautioned that many of the applicants do not meet the full criteria for UC admissions and will be rejected. In addition, with the intense competition for limited places, especially at UCLA and Berkeley, officials have predicted that the number of minority students ultimately accepted will drop from past levels now that racial preferences in admissions have been banned.

There are currently about 120,000 full-time undergraduates enrolled at UC campuses statewide.

The increase in applications is part of a trend spotlighted by education experts, who have called on the state to provide places for hundreds of thousands of new undergraduates at UC, California State University campuses and community colleges as the state’s population surges.

To some degree, the increase in applications was not a surprise because the pool of high school graduates is growing in California. But UC administrators and education consultants Wednesday cited a variety of other reasons for the boost in applications, including the improved economy--prompting a willingness to spend more money on education--a modest cut in UC fees and the system’s outreach programs to attract more high school students.

At UC Irvine, there were a record 18,800 freshman applicants and 3,900 transfer applicants. Officials attributed the increase to an intensive drive at high schools and community colleges and a stepped-up recruiting presence in Northern California.

“We’re elated with the response,” said Manuel N. Gomez, UCI’s vice chancellor for student services. “It really validates the growing attraction of UC and UCI in particular. And it validates the extra efforts that were made over the last year to connect with different constituencies in California.”

For UCI and other campuses, a larger application pool means admissions officers can be more selective. UCI expects to turn away more qualified applicants than ever before--an estimated 6,000, Gomez said, up from 3,000 rejections last year. Not long ago, UCI admitted every applicant who met minimum qualifications.

Like applicants to most UC campuses, those seeking admission to UCI this year include higher numbers of minority students. There are 542 black applicants in the UCI pool and 2,193 Latinos, up 8.8% and 11.3%, respectively, from the year before.

This is the first fall class of applicants that will feel the full weight of the Board of Regents’ decision to ban the consideration of race and gender in undergraduate admissions.

The change in policy already has resulted in dramatic drops in the number of blacks and Latinos admitted to some UC law and medical schools. And supporters of affirmative action had warned that minority students could be discouraged from applying for undergraduate admissions.

Ward Connerly, a UC regent who spearheaded the affirmative action ban, voiced satisfaction with the figures showing increases in the applications from blacks and Latinos.

“My reaction is almost one of vindication, because just a few months ago there were people saying we’ve created a hostile environment so much so that blacks and Latinos weren’t even applying and [were] going elsewhere. This really puts that lie to rest,” he said in a telephone interview.

Connerly also noted the high number of freshman applicants who did not state their ethnicity--more than 8,000 in all, a 219% increase over last year. That may be one reason for an 8.1% drop in the number of applicants who identified themselves as white.

Carla Ferri, director of UC undergraduate admissions, also was pleased by the number of minority applications. Despite the change in admissions procedures, “UC is still a welcoming institution for underrepresented students,” she said.

Marge Chisholm, legislative liaison for the California Postsecondary Education Commission, similarly said, “The word is getting out . . . the university is very committed to admitting as diverse a population as possible, and we think that outreach efforts probably are helping.”

But not every campus reported a rise in applications from all groups.

At UCLA, although applications from Latinos seeking freshman spots were up 6.7%, applications from blacks decreased 7.8%, the school reported. The largest number of freshman applications there came from Asian Americans, but that total was down 1.1% from the 11,492 received for last fall’s class.

UC Riverside, which has not been as popular as other UC campuses, experienced the biggest jump in applications for freshman admission, 18.5%.

Times staff writer Nick Anderson in Orange County contributed to this story.

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Application Binge

Applications for enrollment the following fall at UCI increased 16% in four years:

1994: 19,541

1995: 19,371

1996: 20,092

1997: 20,856

1998: 22,683

Source: UCI