Responding to complaints, UC campuses admit record number of California students

The University of California officials announced Wednesday they have offered admissions to a record number of California students. Around 102,000 residents were offered seats, about 1,400 more than last year. UC also admitted about 29,400 California community college transfers, another record high, officials said.

In Southern California, UCLA offered seats to 57% of California residents who applied, UC Irvine 52% and UC Riverside 87%. Around 2,500 of the admitted California students at UCLA are first generation college students.

“For generations, a University of California education has been one of the state’s most powerful engines of social mobility, opening doors for talented students from every background and region of the state,” said UC President James B. Milliken. “The record number of California students we’re welcoming this year reflects UC's enduring commitment to expanding opportunity while preparing the next generation of leaders, innovators, educators and public servants."

UC has also increased its offer of admissions to non-state students and international students.

Why it matters

UCs increasing California student admissions is tied to a deal the university system struck with lawmakers after facing increased complaints from parents and students that the top UC schools — UCLA, UC Berkeley and UC San Diego — were so hard to get into.

The deal, UC’s Multi Year Compact, requires UCs to increase in-state students by 1% every year and make it easier for community college students to transfer. In turn, the state would increase its funding to UCs to make up for the loss of revenue from non-state students — about a 5% increase every year.

The University of California has said it's on track to meet that goal.

Race in admissions

Earlier this year, the Justice Department accused UCLA of “intentionally” selecting students based on their race, favoring Black and Latino students. This is part of a larger trend of the Department of Justice going after the University of California in President Donald Trump’s second term, including suing UCLA over allegations that the university allowed antisemitism on campus. The Justice Department also unsuccessfully demanded a range of concessions to bring UCLA more in line with its ideology, in addition to more than $1 billion in fines. The administration also tried to freeze the university’s research funding, prompting an effort to have the state of California be a backstop.

But admission trends in race stayed mostly the same as in previous years.

Around 6% of California students offered admissions at UC identify as Black, proportional to the state’s Black population, while around 38% of the in-state admitted students are Latino. Around 40% of the state’s population is Latino.

Around 18% of the instate students offered admissions identified as white and 33% Asian.