Numbering the Crush: Colleges Cull Applicants

The anxiety-provoking season of college applications and admissions is coming to a close for this year. Now, California’s two public university systems -- the University of California and the California State University -- are tallying up how many freshmen will enroll in the fall.

Under the state’s master plan for higher education, UC can admit students from the academic top eighth of high school graduates and Cal State from the top third. Those students are identified on a sliding scale of grades and standardized test scores, among other factors. But requirements can be much tougher at popular campuses, including UCLA and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.

The two systems -- nine UCs for undergraduates and 23 Cal States -- have faced rising demographic pressure as the children of baby boomers started to attend college and as immigration to California has continued. The annual number of high school graduates across the country has grown about 20% since 1996 and is projected to rise 8% more by 2009, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.

But then, the ranks of potential college freshmen will start to thin somewhat.

“I think we’ve seen the most of it,” said Ravi Poorsina, a UC system spokeswoman who specializes in admissions issues. “I think it’s going to level out.”

A tight state budget last year squeezed things by not providing enough money to cover all enrollment growth. Higher education funding for the upcoming school year is expected to be better because of an agreement between educators and the governor.

Fees, however, are up. Including charges required by individual campuses, the average total fees for in-state undergraduates next fall are set to be $6,769 at UC and $3,102 at Cal State. Those figures do not include the costs of housing, books and other expenses.

The UC System

The most popular UC in terms of the number of applications remained UCLA, followed by UC San Diego, UC Santa Barbara, UC Berkeley and UC Irvine. The varying totals of applicants to each campus reflect the schools’ differences in locations, reputations, sizes, program offerings and other factors.

The chances of getting in were by far the smallest at UC Berkeley and UCLA, each of which accepted fewer than a quarter of its applicants.

Overall, 76,152 Californians applied for freshman admission at UC, an increase of about 3% from the year before. Of those hopefuls, 50,017 were accepted by at least one of the undergraduate campuses, including the new UC Merced. The number of acceptances is nearly 11% higher than the previous year, when budget problems led UC to turn away qualified students and redirect some to community colleges; however, the freshman admissions for the fall are less than 1% more than in 2003 cycle.

Computerized applications make it easier for students to apply to more than one UC or Cal State -- and many do. UC applicants tried their luck on average at three or more campuses.

Although many may not be able to get into UC Berkeley or UCLA, qualified students should look beyond those most coveted schools, UC’s Poorsina urged. “You can go to any UC campus and receive a great quality education,” she said.

The opening of UC Merced means that the UC system will be able to accommodate more freshmen over the next few years. “It should be very hopeful for students,” Poorsina said.

UC expects to have about 27,500 freshmen, up about 11% from last fall.

The Cal State System

The Long Beach and San Diego campuses received by far the most applications. The odds of getting in appeared to be the worst at Long Beach, San Marcos, San Diego, San Luis Obispo and Channel Islands. The acceptance rates at those five campuses ranged between about 38% and 44%.

The Cal State system has not yet tallied how many individuals applied for the fall. By April 1, the Cal State campuses had received 328,427 applications, up about 15% from the year before. That, however, includes many multiple applications from the same students; in the recent past, high school seniors seeking a Cal State education have applied on average to more than two campuses in the far-flung chain of schools.

“It’s kind of like planning a weekend trip to Las Vegas,” said James C. Blackburn, associate director of enrollment management services for the Cal State system. “You may have a favorite hotel and you may or may not get into that one. But you need to have a backup plan.”

However, in comparison to UC students, Cal State freshmen tend to be less flexible on location and more likely to commute from home, he said. So that can cause a crunch at some campuses and in some majors, particularly in population centers of Southern California, he said.

Ten Cal State campuses are still accepting applications and have room for freshmen in many programs, officials said. Another school, Cal State Fullerton, continues to accept freshmen applications for only its College of Engineering and Computer Science.

The Cal State system is planning to enroll about 70,000 freshmen in the fall, an increase of 2% from last September.

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Admissions odds

California’s colleges and universities receive far more applications each year from prospective freshmen than they can accept. Here are the numbers for fall 2005:

University of California

*--* Applications Accepted Berkeley 36,892 8,493 Davis 30,016 17,284 Irvine 34,441 19,798 Los Angeles 42,103 10,209 Merced 7,987 5,958 Riverside 18,982 13,978 San Diego 40,499 15,719 Santa Barbara 37,460 18,394 Santa Cruz 22,978 16,267

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Note: UC San Francisco does not have an undergraduate program.

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(As of April 1)

*--* Applications Accepted Bakersfield 4,697 * Channel Islands 4,695 2,074 Chico 13,511 10,157 Dominguez Hills 9,186 * Fresno 13,212 8,500 Fullerton** 25,278 15,060 East Bay 6,781 * Humboldt 6,928 * Long Beach 38,805 14,804 Los Angeles 17,082 * Maritime Academy 1,080 * Monterey Bay 6,161 * Northridge 18,096 11,354 Pomona 17,224 12,289 Sacramento 15,394 * San Bernardino 8,966 * San Diego 37,762 16,500 San Francisco 22,241 14,831 San Jose 17,085 10,488 San Luis Obispo 23,627 10,460 San Marcos 6,545 2,778 Sonoma 9,959 5,834 Stanislaus 4,112 *

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* Campus is still receiving freshman applications for fall 2005.

** Openings remain in engineering and computer science.

Sources: California State University, University of California