Hot off the press!  We've had a chance to review the preliminary Fall 2024 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 63 percent to 66 percent year-over-year, fueled by a 5.8 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 63% to 66% year-over-year.   The average admission rate for California residents rose from 67% to 70%, while out-of-state and international admit rates rose  from 53% to 56% and from 60% to 65% respectively. UCLA remained the most selective campus, with Berkeley at #2, San Diego at #3, Irvineat #4, Santa Barbara at #5 and Davis, Santa Cruz, Riverside and Merced at spots 6-9.

• Overall application volume remained stable. Systemwide application volume remained stable, with a couple campuses experiencing mild declines (Berkeley, down 1.3%; Santa Barbara, down 0.6%) and more campuses seeing increases (including Merced, up 14.1%; Davis, up 4.5%; Santa Cruz, up 4.2%).
  
  
• Increased acceptances, particularly for domestic and international students. Total acceptances increased by 5.8% year over year. Resident acceptances rose by 6.4% while out-of-state acceptances rose 1.7%. International acceptances increased by 8.3%.

• Pockets of opportunity remain for non-residents. Despite the overall resident advantage in acceptances, a few campuses continue to offer admission rate advantages for non-residents.

Highlights by Campus

• Berkeley.   The overall admission rate slightly declined from 12% to 11%, with decreases across all applicant categories. Resident acceptances fell 2.1% and out-of state acceptances fell 10.6%, but international applicants declined 33.5%. 

• Davis.   The overall admission rate remained stable at 42% with a 4.5% increase in applications matched with a 5.1% increase increase in acceptances. Admit rates remained relatively stable with a slight increase for resident and international applicants, but out-of-state students saw a slight decrease in the admit rate from 61% to 58%. 

• Irvine.   The overall admission rate increased to from 26% to 29% year-over-year, driven by stable applications and a 13% increase in acceptances. The acceptance rate for all categories of applicants increased slightly. Residents saw an increase from 20% to 22% and out-of-state from 47% to 50%.  International applicants saw the most pronounced increase, from 33 to 43%, driven by a 34% increase in admits. 

• Los Angeles.   The overall admission rate remained steady at around 9%, with a small 0.3% increase in overall applications matched by a 3% increase in admits.  The acceptance rate remained constant across all applicant types. 

• Merced.     While there appears to be an inconsistency in the currently reported data—total acceptances exceed total applicants—the overall acceptance rate will likely continues to be in the mid to high 90s. Merced continues to be a largely resident-centric campus, but interest from out-of state and international students is growing with applications up 21% and 58% respectively, matched by an increase in acceptances of 28% and 86% respectively. 

• Riverside.   The overall admission rate rose from 71 to 77 percent as applications grew 2% and acceptances grew 11%. Out-of-state and international acceptances both grew by 7% compared to last year, but Riverside continues to be heavily resident-centric with 83% of admits being California residents.

• San Diego.   The overall admission rate rose slightly from 25% to 27%, driven by a 3% increase in applications and a 11% increase in acceptances. The resident and out-of-state acceptance rates rose from 25% to 26% and from 32% to 34% respectively. The international admit rate saw the largest increase from 18% to 22%.

• Santa Barbara.   The overall admission rate rose slightly from 28% to 33%, driven by an 18% increase in admitted students. The acceptance rate for international applicants grew most strongly, rising from 22 to 30 percent due to a 36% increase in acceptances. Resident acceptances rose from 28% to 32% and out-of-state acceptances increased from 33% to 39%

• Santa Cruz.   The overall admission rate rose from 63% to 65%, fueled by a 4% increase in applicants overall and a 8% increase in acceptances. The admission rate for residents  and out-of state applicants had mild increases from 60% to 61% and 81% to 82% respectively, but international applicants saw the most growth with ann increase from 61% to 81%.

Implications

• Expect applicant volume to remain elevated.   With test-blind/score-free admissions in place for the foreseeable future, expect continued application interest to 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. International admit rates are up at many campuses.

• Admission rate advantages most prominent at Davis, Irvine, Riverside, and Santa Cruz.   Decided admission rate advantages persist for out-of-state and international applicants at each of these campuses Davis and Irvine.