The percentage of freshman applicants who have been admitted to UC Santa Cruz for this coming fall declined by more than 10 percent in just one year, reflecting the increasingly competitive nature of undergraduate admission to the campus.
| 64 percent of freshman applicants, down from 83 percent just two years ago, are offered admission |
The declining "admit rate" is a reflection of the campus's increasing selectivity in freshman admission, said Michelle Whittingham, UCSC's associate vice chancellor of enrollment management.
"Interest from prospective students in attending UC Santa Cruz continues to climb, as illustrated by our admission rate that has gone from 83 to 74 to 64 percent in just two years," Whittingham said. "For two consecutive years, no other UC campus has experienced this kind of increase in selectivity."
"We are also quite pleased by the academic achievement and diversity of the admitted students," Whittingham added. Among admitted freshmen, the mean grade point average increased from last year's 3.69 to 3.76 this year, and the SAT reasoning total (critical reading, mathematics, and writing) increased from 1760 to 1787. And, as UCSC's freshman admissions have become more competitive, the campus has continued to increase its percentage of admitted freshmen from underrepresented ethnic groups-from 22.7 percent last year to 23.4 percent this year. Chicanos and Latinos account for 19.9 percent of admitted students, up from 19.2 percent last year. The percentage of African Americans decreased slightly from 2.8 percent last year to 2.6 percent this year. American Indians represent .9 percent of admitted students this year, compared with .6 percent last year.
Thousands of admitted students and their families are already scheduled to visit the campus during UCSC's "2009 Spring Spotlight" activities for admitted students. Continuing through April 18, the activities include daily student-led walking tours-providing an overview of the academic, residential, and student-life experience at UCSC. Admitted students and families see Spring Spotlight days as an opportunity to visit UCSC's 10 residential colleges, attend presentations, and visit classrooms. For more information, please go to: admissions.ucsc.edu/springSpotlight/.
Admitted freshmen have until May 1 to file a "statement of intent to register," indicating their intention to enroll at UCSC. The campus's admissions decisions for this coming fall are based on its goal of enrolling no more than 3,620 freshmen; that is a reduction of 335 from fall 2008.
Michelle Whittingham, UCSC's associate vice chancellor of enrollment management, is available to discuss freshman admissions to the campus for fall 2009. To arrange an interview, please call (831) 459-2495.
