Hot off the press!  We've had a chance to review the preliminary Fall 2023 admissions data released recently by the University of California and we thought it would be helpful to summarize it and share our key findings.  

Overall freshman admission rates increased systemwide from 60 percent to 63 percent year-over-year, fueled by a 2.1 percent decline in applications and 3.3 percent increase in acceptances. 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 rates at a couple of UC campuses.

Click on Continue Reading for the details.

Key Findings

• Systemwide, the overall freshman admission rate increased from 60 percent to 63 percent year-over-year.   The average admission rate for California residents rose from 64 to 67 percent, while out-of-state and international admit rates rose  from 48 to 53 percent and from 56 to 60 percent respectively. UCLA remained the most selective campus, with Berkeley at #2, Irvine at #3, San Diego at #4, Santa Barbara at #5 and Davis, Santa Cruz, Riverside and Merced at spots 6-9.

• Application volume declined slightly. Systemwide application volume declined 2.1 percent year over year, with most campuses experiencing mild declines. Exceptions: Irvine (up 1.6 percent), Riverside (up 3.9 percent) and Santa Cruz (up 4.5 percent).

• Increased acceptances, particularly for domestic students. Total acceptances increased by 3.3 percent year over year. Resident acceptances rose by 3.5 percent while out-of-state acceptances rose 3.9 percent. International acceptances increased by 1 percent.

• Pockets of opportunity remain for non-residents. Despite the overall decline in out-of-state and international acceptances, a few campuses continue to offer admission rate advantages for non-residents.

Highlights by Campus

• Berkeley.   The overall admission rate held steady at roughly 12 percent as a slight rise in the resident admit rate offset slight declines in out-of-state and international admit rates. Resident acceptances rose 4.5 percent while out-of-state and international acceptances fell 13 percent and 12 percent respectively.

• Davis.   The overall admission rate increased to 38 to 42 percent year-over-year due to an 11 percent increase in acceptances. Admit rates rose for resident and international applicants from 32 to 36 percent and 43 to 50 percent respectively. Out-of-state students also saw a slight increase in the admit rate from 60 to 61 percent. As can be seen, out-of-state and international applicants continued to be admitted at rates far in excess of California residents. 

• Irvine.   The overall admission rate increased to from 21 to 26 percent year-over-year, driven by a 2 percent increase in applications and a notable 25 percent increase in acceptances. The acceptance rate for residents increased slightly from 18 to 20 percent, while the rates for out-of-state and international applicants saw a greater rise from 37 to 47 percent and from 22 to 33 percent respectively. While all groups saw increased acceptance rates, the advantage was most pronounced for out-of-state and international students.

• Los Angeles.   The overall admission rate remained steady at around 9 percent. There were no significant changes to resident, out-of-state, or international acceptance rates, which were 9.5 percent, 8.6 percent and 6.1 percent respectively.

• Merced.   93 percent of applicants were admitted to the Merced campus for Fall 2023. While Merced remains a largely resident-centric, interest from international students is growing with applications up 18 percent and acceptances up 19 percent compared to last year.

• Riverside.   The overall admission rate rose slightly from 69 to 71 percent as applications grew 4 percent and acceptances grew 8 percent. Out-of-state and international acceptances grew by 12 and 7 percent compared to last year, but Riverside remains largely resident-centric with 82 percent of admits being California residents.

• San Diego.   The overall admission rate rose slightly from 24 to 25 percent in 2023, driven by a 4 percent increase in acceptances. The resident and international admit rates rose from 24 to 25 percent and from 16 to 18 percent respectively, while the out-of-state rate held steady at 32 percent.

• Santa Barbara.   The overall admission rate rose slightly from 26 to 28 percent year-over-year, driven by an 8 percent increase in admitted students. The acceptance rate for out-of-state applicants grew most strongly, rising from 29 to 33 percent due to a 13 percent increase in acceptances.

• Santa Cruz.   The overall admission rate rose dramatically from 47 to 63 percent year-over-year, fueled by a 5 percent increase in applicants overall and a whopping 39 percent increase in acceptances. The admission rate for residents rose from 43 percent to 60 percent, while admit rates for out-of-state and international applicants rose from 71 to 81 percent and 55 to 61 percent respetively. While the gap is narrowing, out of state applicants continue to enjoy an admission rate advantage over residents.

Implications

• Expect applicant volume to remain elevated for Fall 2024 .   With test-blind/score-free admissions in place for the foreseeable future, expect application interest to remain high in for University of California campuses.  

• 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 and Santa Cruz.   Decided admission rate advantages persist for out-of-state applicants at each of these campuses and for international students at Davis and Irvine.