A New Test for the New Freshman Class

UCLA received nearly 33,000 freshman applications this year, more than any other university in America. But in early April, we will notify only 10,600 extraordinary high school seniors that they have been admitted as freshmen, anticipating that approximately 3,800 will choose to enroll for the fall.

I don’t have to rely on my engineering background to work the math: Though our freshman class will be the largest of any UC campus, we will nevertheless be denying admission to more than 22,000 high school seniors of all races and ethnicities, most of whom are excellent students and superb young men and women.

I am concerned about the outstanding students we cannot admit and anxious that some segments of our community will be inadequately represented in this freshman class. Identifying California’s very best and brightest students is a difficult and complicated matter, as much art as science. We’re looking not only for smart and accomplished students, but also for young scholars who have challenged themselves by taking the most demanding curricula their high schools offer. We recognize that not all schools are created equal, that resources vary widely and that too many schools do not provide their students sufficient opportunity to excel.

And we know from research and experience that certain extenuating circumstances can have significant impact on secondary school performance. Is the student in a single-parent family? Is she the first in her family to pursue a college education? Does she live in a rural area far removed from a larger community of learners that might have enriched her high school experience? An applicant’s merit cannot be measured only by grade point average and test scores.

Still, the incoming class will be the most academically accomplished in the campus’ history: Some of the students we accept will turn down offers from Harvard, MIT and Stanford to attend UCLA. We recognize how rigorous the competition is to gain admission to UCLA and take very seriously our responsibility to our applicants.

For years we have employed a process, now much imitated by other universities, of considering the whole student, including academic records, test scores and scholastic and other achievements, as well as the obstacles each individual has overcome to become competitive for admission. We carefully read and evaluate each application at least three times. Many are read five or six times.

The stakes are high, not only for the students but for UCLA as well. I am confident we have both the students and faculty necessary to move us into the ranks of the world’s great universities. At UCLA we are proud to have long ago disproved the myth that diversity can be achieved only at the cost of excellence. We know that one enhances the other.

I believe that if UCLA is to achieve greatness, it must maintain its tradition of diversity. As mandated by Proposition 209, we will this year admit students without regard to their race, ethnicity, national origin, color or gender. In full compliance with the words and spirit of Proposition 209, we have greatly expanded our historically strong outreach efforts and are determined to increase over time the UCLA eligibility of underrepresented minority and low-income students. We have a major stake in improving the quality of K-12 public education in Los Angeles and have dedicated significant resources to tackling this problem.

From my years of teaching in university classrooms, I know that students learn invaluable lessons from one another. And from my own experience as the son of an immigrant mother and first-generation American father, I can attest to how education is the key to upward mobility in our society. I’ve benefited enormously from a public school education and fully appreciate the responsibility the University of California has to prepare leaders from every segment of the community.

We will keep the doors of UCLA open to all who are qualified; we will redouble our efforts to ensure that a world-class education is made accessible to top students from every high school in the state. Undoubtedly, many of the students we are unable to admit will be invited to attend other UC campuses, all of which offer superb educational opportunities.

To all those young scholars who are admitted to our freshman class--and especially students from underrepresented minorities--our message is simple and unequivocal: Come to UCLA. You will receive an outstanding education here and will help us to make this a great university. UCLA wants you and needs you.