UC admits more Californians, but elite campuses stay selective

The University of California admitted more California residents for the upcoming fall term than last year, but not at the system’s most exclusive campuses.

Overall, UC admitted 149,368 first-year students, including 100,947 Californians — 7% more in-state students than the system admitted for fall 2024, according to data UC released Monday.

That increase was driven by gains in the number of Californians admitted to the Merced and Riverside campuses, and to a lesser degree, the Davis and Santa Cruz campuses. That offsets the decline in the number of first-year California residents accepted to the remaining campuses, including UCLA and Berkeley. However, the share of admitted students who choose to enroll at those campuses is much higher than at campuses such as Merced and Riverside, where only a small percentage of accepted students end up attending.

Among first-year Californians, there were also gains across racial groups, with the number of admitted Black, Latino, Asian and white students increasing systemwide.

Most campuses also admitted more students from other states and countries than last year, as well as more transfer students from community colleges.

The systemwide first-year admission rate was 77% for Californians and 73% for all students, both up by 7% from last year.

In recent years, UC has faced pressure from lawmakers to offer more spots to California residents and, as part of a deal with Gov. Gavin Newsom, has agreed to enroll more of those students in exchange for annual budget increases. This year’s funding increase, however, was deferred and will be paid to UC in subsequent years.

“We continue to experience significant growth — a clear indication that Californians recognize the value of a UC degree,” UC President Michael V. Drake said in a statement. “Our latest admissions numbers demonstrate that families across our state recognize that UC degrees prepare students for a lifetime of meaningful contributions in their communities and far beyond.”

Merced accepted 17,481 more first-year Californians than it did a year ago, a staggering 72% increase. Riverside also saw a massive jump, offering admission to just under 17,000 or 46% more in-state students than it did for fall 2024.

At Berkeley and UCLA, the number of first-year Californians offered a spot declined by 8% and 2.4%, respectively. There were also modest declines at the Irvine, San Diego and Santa Barbara campuses.

However, Berkeley was among the campuses to admit more California community college transfer students. The system as a whole admitted 27,845 transfer students from California community colleges, up 6% over last year.

“Creating pathways to a UC education for a wide range of top California students yields benefits not only for those students, but for the state at large,” Han Mi Yoon-Wu, UC’s associate vice provost and executive director for undergraduate admissions, said in a statement.

UC also extended admission offers to far more out-of-state students. The system accepted 2,150 more domestic out-of-state students than last year, a 9% increase. The increase was even more significant for international students, with UC admitting 3,263 more than last year, or a 17% gain.

Facing state budget uncertainties and federal funding cuts, UC could stand to benefit from enrolling more out-of-state students, who pay significantly higher tuition prices than California residents and will pay even more this fall.

In a press release, though, UC said the increased offers to international students were “due to rising uncertainty of their likelihood of enrolling.”

Across California and nationally, many experts and college staff are concerned that international students will be less likely to enroll this fall out of fear that the Trump administration could cancel their visas.

Earlier this year, the Trump administration abruptly terminated the visas of more than 1,500 international students across the country, including many in California. The administration later reversed those terminations, but said at the time that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement was “developing a policy that will provide a framework” for visa terminations.