Spring is a crucial time of year for university-bound high school seniors and community college transfer students as they must decide where to enroll by May 1 or June 1. Our campus will see over 8,000 visitors during this period. This increasing number of visitors is good news for the campus and continues to show our campus' rising reputation and desirability. An outline of campus spring yield events can be found at http://admissions.ucsc.edu/springyield09.
In fall 2007, the campus admission rate (number of admit offers compared to total number of applications) was just over 80%, while last year it was 73%. For fall 2009 we anticipate another jump in selectivity with a projected admit rate of 65%. Demand for our campus has also risen during this time, with frosh yield rates (number of students accepting our offer of admission) climbing each year; in fact, last year's yield rate of 23% was the highest the campus has achieved this decade!
We are holding "UC Santa Cruz - Spring Spotlight" from April 3 to April 18. We only invite admitted students and their families to visit during this period, although we do plan to make some tour times available for prospective students as well because these weeks coincide with many students' spring breaks. Transfer-specific Spring Spotlight sessions will be held on April 9 and 16 at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. After admissions decisions are released March 15, if students contact you about campus tours, please refer them to the Admissions web site at http://admissions.ucsc.edu, where they will find instructions for reserving a place in a Spring Spotlight or regular tour.
Student organizations have initiated their own outreach events to help welcome admitted students to the campus. The events will be held the weekend of April 9-11, and they include Destination Higher Education, sponsored by the African/Black Student Alliance; A Step Forward, sponsored by the Filipino Student Association; and Oportunidades Rumbo A La Educación (ORALE), sponsored by Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano/a de Aztlan (MEChA).
Our many April visitors will be curious about university life and academic opportunities, and may ask you many questions. Please be friendly and patient. Your helpfulness is a key indicator of our university community for these students and their families. Also, if you see individuals or groups that seem lost, please help them find their way. If you see items or issues around campus that need attention, please contact Assistant Director of Admissions Beatrice Atkinson-Myers (ext. 9-2352), who will work with the appropriate unit(s) to help make our visitors' experience the best possible.
All campus web sites, including college, department, school, division, and student affairs sites, will see many views as well. Please take a moment to consider the web presence of your own unit(s), and seek ways to ensure an enticing, accurate, and up-to-date presentation of our campus and programs.
Thank you in advance for your continued partnership in yielding the best undergraduates for fall 2009.
