Hot off the press!  We've had a chance to review the Fall 2016 admissions data released yesterday by the University of California and thought it would be helpful to summarize it and our key findings.  

Long story short, overall freshman admission rates are up as the University of California makes good on its plan to enroll an additional 10,000 California undergraduates over the next three years.  And while the emphasis was on admitting more California residents for the Fall 2016 class, we suspect a "new normal" has appeared that creates more room for non-residents as well.  If you're an out of state or international student, pay close attention...there appears to be a window of opportunity to take advantage of favorable odds at several UC campuses.

Click on Continue Reading for the details.

Key Findings

• Systemwide, the overall freshman admission rate increased from 58% in 2015 to 63% in 2016.   Systemwide, the overall freshman admission rate increased from 58% to 63% as the number of admitted students expanded at every campus compared to the previous year. The average admission rate for California residents increased from 60% to 68%, while out of state and international admit rates improved marginally from 50% to 51% and 62% to 63%. Berkeley, UCLA, Santa Barbara and San Diego remained the 4 most selective campuses, with Irvine and Davis switching spots at 5 and 6, followed by Santa Cruz, Riverside and Merced at 7, 8 and 9.

• Emphasis on in-state admissions. In keeping with the UC Board of Regents approved plan to enroll an additional 5,000 freshman and transfer students in 2016-17, over 9,300 additional California applicants (unduplicated) were admitted to UC campuses year over year.

• Continued opportunity for non-residents. The mix of out of state and international admitted students was 33% in 2016, flat from 2015 but up from 30% in 2014. This suggests the possibility of a “new normal” to bring greater diversity and full-pay tuition to UC campuses. While the systemwide admit rates for out of state and international students are lower than for California residents overall, several campuses boast non-resident admission rates that are far in excess of resident rates.

Highlights by Campus

• Berkeley.   The mix of admitted California residents grew from 65% to 68% of the mix in 2016, as the campus admitted over 1,000 additional resident applicants. The mix of admitted out of state and international applicants declined accordingly, as application growth was countered by lower admission rates.

• Davis.   The overall admission rate grew from 38% to 42% for 2016 as admitted student growth outpaced applicant growth (17% vs 6%). The admit rate for California residents increased from 33% to 38% as an additional 2,700+ residents were admitted. California residents represented 64% of the total mix of admitted students, holding steady from 2015 but down significantly from 73% in 2014. Out of state and international applicants grew 13% and 20% respectively and were admitted at rates far in excess of California residents (64% and 50%).

• Irvine.   The overall admission rate grew from 39% to 41% as admitted student growth outpaced applicant growth (14% vs 8%). The admission rate for California residents improved from 33% to 37%, while the admission rates for out of state and international student applicants declined from 61% to 54% and 55% to 51% respectively due to strong non-resident application growth. Like Davis, non-resident admission rates at Irvine remain significantly higher than the resident admission rate.

• Los Angeles.   The overall admission rate grew slightly from 17% to 18% as admitted student growth outpaced application growth (9% vs 5%). UCLA admitted over 1,000 more California applicants than the previous year, resulting in a slight rise in admit rate from 16% to 18%. Out of state and international admit rates were flat year over year at 22% and 14%.

• Merced.   The overall admission rate grew substantially from 65% to 74% as admitted student growth far exceeded applicant growth (27% vs 11%). Of the 3,225 additional students admitted in 2016, 2,871 were California residents. Though out of state and international student admit rates increased from 53% to 58% and 42% to 51%, the mix of out of state and international admitted students remained essentially unchanged at 6%.

• Riverside.   The overall admission rate grew from 56% to 66%, as admitted student growth significantly exceeded applicant growth (31% vs 11%). Like Merced, of the 6,658 additional students admitted in 2016, the vast majority were California residents. The mix of out of state and international admitted students rose from 11% to 14% on the strength of strong application and admitted student growth.

• San Diego.   The overall admission rate grew from 34% to 36%, fueled by improved admission rates for California residents (34% in 2016 vs 30% in 2015) and out of state applicants (49% vs 46%). The admit rate for international students declined from 39% to 33% year over year. Together, out of state and international students constituted 38% of the total admitted mix.

• Santa Barbara.   The overall admission rate grew from 33% to 36%, powered by improved admission rates for California and international applicants (37% vs 34%, 32% vs 25%). Over 2,600 additional California residents were admitted during the year, as well as nearly 1,500 international applicants. Overall, out of state and international students accounted for 27% of the mix of admitted students, up from 24% in 2015 and 22% in 2014.

• Santa Cruz.   The overall admission rate grew from 46% to 56% in 2016 on the strength of expanded California resident admissions. Over 4,700 additional California applicants were admitted during the year, constituting 78% of the total mix of admitted students. The mix of out of state and international admitted students declined from 25% in 2015 to 23% in 2016, as strong application growth was muted by lower admission rates.

Implications

• Stabilizing prospects for California residents.   Prospects for California residents recovered year over year as the University of California commenced its plan to enroll an additional 10,000 California undergraduates over the next three years.

• Opportunity persists for out of state and international applicants.   The search for improved diversity and full pay applicants to counter rising expenses should continue to create opportunity for non-residents interested in a UC education. The mix of admitted non-residents is now at 33% vs 30% in 2014 and applications have grown 33% during this time, suggesting that an increasing number of applicants are looking to capitalize on the opportunity.

• Admission rate advantages exist at Davis, Irvine, San Diego and Santa Cruz.   Assuming recent trends persist, decided admission rate advantages exist for out of state and international students at Davis, Irvine and Santa Cruz. An out of state advantage exists at San Diego as well.