Hot off the press!  We've had a chance to review the Fall 2021 admissions data released recently by the University of California and thought it would be helpful to summarize it and share our key findings.  

Overall freshman admission rates are down for residents, out of state and international students across the board thanks to test-blind admissions and an 18 percent year-over-year rise in total admits. If you're an out of state or international student, pay close attention...there continues 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 declined from 69% to 65%.   Systemwide, the overall freshman admission rate fell from 69% to 65% as applications grew 18% amidst the pandemic and the adoption of test-blind admisions. The average admission rate for California residents fell from 71% to 66% year over year, while out-of-state and international admit rates fell from 63% to 61% and 71% to 68% respectively. UCLA remained the most selective campus, with Berkeley at #2, Irvine at #3, Santa Barbara at #4, San Diego at #5 and Davis, Santa Cruz, Riverside and Merced at spots 6-9.

• California admittances at an all-time high. Fall 2021 resident admissions exceeded 84,200, up 5% for the year.

• Strong demand from out-of-state applicants. Systemwide, out-of-state applications rose a whopping 44% year over year and accounted for over 28,000 admittances, up 40% from the previous year.

• Mix of out-of-state and international admittances on the rise. Systemwide, the mix of out-of-state and international admittances rose from 33% to 36% of total.

• Pockets of opportunity remain for non-residents. Several campuses continue to expand their mix of non-resident admittances.

Highlights by Campus

• Berkeley.   The overall admission rate declined from 18% to 15% in 2021 due to a 28% increase in applications and an 6% increase in admitted students.  The mix of resident vs. non-resident admittances fell from at 66%/34% to 64%/36%.  

• Davis.   The overall admission rate climbed from 47% to 49% for 2021 due to an 19% increase in admitted students. Out-of-state and international applicants were admitted at rates far in excess of California residents (81% and 68% vs 39%). Non-residents now represent 44% of total admittances, up from 39% in 2020. 

• Irvine.   The overall admission rate declined slightly from 30% to 29% as application growth outpaced admittance growth 10% vs 7%. The admission rate for out-of-state applicants jumped from 64% to 74% in 2021. Out-of-state and international admission rates at Irvine remain substantially higher than the admission rate for California residents (74% and 38% vs 20%) and non-residents now represent 50% of total admits.

• Los Angeles.   The overall admission rate declined from 14% to 11% based on a 28% increase in applicants and a 4% decline in admitted students. Residents were admitted at a 10% rate while out-of-state and international applicants were admitted at a 14% rate and 9% rate respectively.

• Merced.   The overall admission rate increased from 91% to 96% due to a 10% rise in admitted students. Merced remains a decidedly resident-centric campus, with non-residents representing just 7% of the total admit pool.

• Riverside.   The overall admission rate held steady at 66% as applications and admittances grew 6-7%. While interest from out-of-state applicants grew meaningfully for the year, 84% of total admits were for California residents.

• San Diego.   The overall admission rate fell from 38% to 34% as applicant growth outpaced admittance growth 18% to 6%. Out of state applications grew 45% and accounted for all admittance growth for the year. The admit rate for out of state students held fairly steady at 59% while rates declined from 34% to 29% for residents and 36% to 31% for international students.

• Santa Barbara.   The overall admission rate declined from 37% to 29% due to a 16% uptick in applicants and 8% decline in admitted students. Resident and international admit rates declined from 35% to 28% and 31% to 27%, while the out of state admit rate fell precipitously from 53% to 36% on the strength of a 53% increase in applications.

• Santa Cruz.   The overall admission rate declined from 65% to 59% in 2021 due to a 12% increase in applicants. Out of state applications grew a whopping 61% year over year and lik San Diego and Santa Barbara campuses, accounted for all admittance growth at the campus.

Implications

• Expect applicant interest to remain high for Fall 2022 cycle.   With test-blind admissions in place for the Fall 2022 cycle, expect application counts to remain high and selectivity to be similar to Fall 2021 levels.  

• Pockets of opportunity persist for out-of-state and international applicants.   The search for improved diversity and full pay applicants to counter rising expenses continues to create opportunity for non-residents interested in a UC education.  Not all campuses have reached their non-resident enrollment limits, and the mix of out-of-state and international admittances continues to rise at selected campuses.

• Admission rate advantages most prominent at Davis, Irvine, San Diego and Santa Cruz.   Decided admission rate advantages persist for out-of-state and international students at Davis, Irvine and Santa Cruz, and for out-of-state students at San Diego.