UC Sees Halt to Steep Drop in Minorities

Offering an early peek at University of California admissions this year, six UC campuses reported Tuesday the number of admitted blacks and Latinos either stabilized or improved from last year’s steep drops.

The numbers so far, however, reveal little about the long-term impact of ending affirmative action in the state’s elite university system.

Comparisons are difficult because, for example, two of the most popular campuses have not reported their admission figures, and not all freshman have decided where they will attend this fall. In addition, several of the campuses offered incomplete information, in part to make their minority recruitment appear successful.

Finally, the proportion of blacks and Latinos continue to fall at some schools despite growing numbers of these underrepresented minorities because overall admissions have increased.

UC San Diego reported that the number of African Americans admitted as freshmen continued to decline--this year by 15%. That follows a steeper plunge last year, when UC campuses picked their first freshmen class in decades without giving special consideration to race, ethnicity or gender. The number of Latinos admitted, however, rebounded this year, up 13%.

“This university is determined to increase the racial and ethnic diversity of its student population,” said Joseph Watson, vice chancellor for student affairs. “We will intensify our efforts to achieve that goal.”

Such gains in Latino admissions are particularly significant, considering UC San Diego sent out fewer offers of admissions this year.

The system’s largest and most selective campuses--UCLA and UC Berkeley--do not plan to release freshmen admissions figures until early next month. These two campuses had the sharpest declines in minority admissions last year in the wake of the state’s ban on affirmative action.

University officials caution that the preliminary figures released Tuesday will change as top students pick among multiple admission offers. Applicants have until May 1 to select their school.

University of California students generally apply to three UC campuses, as well as to other colleges and universities. Those turned away from the most selective schools, such as UCLA and Berkeley, are often offered spots at less competitive campuses, including some of the schools that released admission figures on Tuesday.

UC Davis reported a 4% increase in admissions for African Americans, while admission of Latinos declined only slightly from last year.

Davis, however, sent acceptance letters to 14,400 students, about 7% more than last year. Students from other ethnic groups showed more substantial gains. The admission of whites rose nearly 18% and Asian American admits were up nearly 12%.

The same pattern generally held true for other campuses.

UC Santa Barbara reported that compared to last year it admitted 22 more “underrepresented minorities,” defined by the university as blacks, Latinos and American Indians.

But the Santa Barbara campus admitted about 2,700 more students overall this year, so that underrepresented minorities actually make up a smaller portion of the admitted freshmen class than last year.

UC Irvine’s figures showed admission of African Americans were up by 13% over last year and Latinos were up by 14%. But every other ethnic category was up too--whites, up 28%, and Asian Americans, up 15%--because Irvine admitted 13,170 students, 11% more than last year.

UC Riverside and UC Santa Cruz are the two UC campuses with the biggest plans for growth.

As a result, UC Riverside accepts virtually all students who meet minimum requirements for UC admission. It sent acceptance letters to 14% more students this year than last, and reported double-digit growth in almost every ethnic category.

UC Santa Cruz did not have room for all applicants this year, but managed to extend more offers this year to nearly every ethnic category as well.