More High School Seniors Apply for UC’s Fall Term

The number of high school seniors applying to the University of California climbed slightly this year, an increase that officials attributed to a continuing rise in the college-age population and better academic preparation by many students.

Overall, 76,152 high school seniors applied for fall 2005 admission, a 2.8% rise from the year before, according to figures released Wednesday. That included 65,435 applications from Californians, up 3.7%.

In recent years, about 50,000 California freshmen have been offered fall admission at one or more campuses, but UC officials say they do not yet know how many will be admitted this year.

The jump in freshman applications followed a 4.1% decline in 2004, which UC blamed on higher fees and stricter immigration policies for foreigners.

At the same time, applications from students hoping to transfer to UC from other colleges were down, even slightly for California residents. The declines were sharpest for out-of-state and international transfer applications, which fell 27.3% and 13.8%, respectively.

UC spokeswoman Ravi Poorsina said fee increases may have hurt transfer applications.

After an 8% fee hike, all undergraduates next year will pay average systemwide and campus fees of $6,769, not including housing and other costs. But those who are not California residents also must pay out-of-state tuition of $17,304, up 5%.

At individual UC campuses, the picture of freshman applicants was mixed. Four, including UC Berkeley, had more applications than last year; four others had fewer. Nearly 8,000 applied for freshman admission to UC Merced, which is due to open in September.

UCLA, again the UC system’s most popular campus, received 42,103 applications for freshman admission in the fall, down 2.3% from last year. The decline, the second in two years, may be because students are becoming more realistic about how tough it is to get in, said Tom Lifka, UCLA’s assistant vice chancellor of student academic services.