In a promising step toward increased transfer enrollment, UC Santa Cruz marked nearly a 12 percent increase in the number of applicants from California community colleges.
More than 9,800 California students applied to transfer to UC Santa Cruz for fall 2018, according to data released today by the UC Office of the President. The campus has received 11,282 transfer applications, a 12.8 percent increase over last year. UC Santa Cruz, like the Riverside and Merced campuses, will continue to accept transfer applications until Jan. 8, so that final number of applications will be even higher.
“It’s exciting to see the growth in transfer applications,” said Vice Provost and Dean of Undergraduate Education Richard Hughey. “Our admissions office has been working up and down the state to be sure that community college students are aware of the welcoming opportunities and distinct learning environment available at UC Santa Cruz through its majors, colleges, research experiences, and student programs.”
Chancellor George Blumenthal has also been highly engaged in this key initiative, collaborating with community college presidents to expand pathways to UC Santa Cruz.
California high school seniors also applied to UC Santa Cruz in record numbers with the campus receiving 45,737 applications—a 7.1 percent increase from last year.
More than 56,000 students—a new record—applied to be new first-year students for fall 2018 quarter, a 6.9 percent increase from the previous year.
The growth in applications underscores the interest from students in a university experience centered on their success and driven by breakthrough research and innovation that regularly gains national and international recognition.
The campus's blend of high-impact research with tight-knit communities of learning, similar to small liberal arts colleges, continues to be attractive for students from other states and countries, too. Freshman applications from out-of-state students increased by 2.7 percent and from international students by 7.2 percent.
The campus also continued to see interest from ethnically diverse California students with this year’s figures in line with last years. Of California freshman applicants, 5.2 percent are African American; 30.8 are Asian American; 0.3 percent are Pacific Islander; and 36 percent are Chicano/Latino.
Undergraduate students who arrive in the fall will be part of the campus’s residential college communities for living and learning, as well as host of special programs, including the Scholars Program, Smith Society, and ever expanding opportunities for undergraduate research, internships, and creative projects with world-class faculty.
Undergraduate applicants will be notified of admission decisions and waitlist invitations beginning mid-March. Admitted first-year students have until May 1 to indicate their intent to enroll and transfers until June 1.
