Wednesday, November 11, 1998
UC applications increase as enrollment stays constant
REGENTS: Criteria may be expanded to ensure qualified freshman
class
By Edina Lekovic
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
Admissions officers will be kept extra busy this year with an
estimated increase of about 2,000 applications for admission to the
UCs, officials said.
Based on an increase in the number of high school seniors in the
state, the University of California is projecting a record-breaking
number of applicants to its eight campuses serving
undergraduates.
Many figures in the university see enrollment growth as a
responsibility that the university named in its core mission.
"We have a commitment, under the Master Plan of Education, to
accept the top 12.5 percent of all high school graduates in
California," said UC spokesperson Terry Colvin.
"The number of high school graduates increases each year, which
means we have to respond," he said.
Officials are predicting this increase of almost 20,000 high
school seniors will mean roughly 2,000 more applications to the
university, pushing the total number of applicants close to
64,000.
"Every indicator points to a record number of applications from
high school seniors this fall," said UC President Richard
Atkinson.
"This translates into increased competition for the roughly
27,000 openings we will have for freshmen for fall 1999," he
added.
The only effect of this change for UCLA may be increased
competition, however, because the university is not planning to
increase the number of students admitted.
While the number of applications may be increasing, UCLA is
trying to keep its enrollment figures constant.
"In the past, we’ve received the largest number of applications
in the system, and we have every reason to believe that will happen
again," said Rae Lee Siporin, director of admissions at UCLA.
"(However), we don’t believe that we’re going to see a
significant increase in next year’s (admissions) numbers. We have a
target  we’re not trying to get more students."
UCLA plans to admit a low number of students to keep enrollment
at only 3,850 for the 1999 freshman class. Students applying to
UCLA, therefore, will not only have to meet the UC’s minimum
eligibility standards, but will be required to achieve a level of
"competitive eligibility."
In order to meet the UC’s minimum admission requirements,
applicants must be among the top 12.5 percent of all California
high school seniors, about equal to a 3.3 GPA.
At UCLA and UC Berkeley, however, which receive far more
applications than they can accommodate, additional admissions
criteria above the minimum requirements are applied.
Between 50 and 75 percent of the freshmen classes at these
campuses will be selected on the basis of grades, test scores and
"academic promise." The remaining students will be chosen on the
basis of grades, test scores and additional criteria set by the
campus, including "potential to contribute to the university’s
educational environment and intellectual vitality," according to
admissions officials.
"Because the level of competition for admission to certain
campuses and programs is very high, students should consider
applying to more than one campus or program," said Carla Ferri, UC
statewide admissions director.
"You may not receive your first choice, but if you are
qualified, you will be admitted to a campus where you can fulfill
your educational goals," she said.
This is where diversity becomes a central issue. In place of the
applications’ previous consideration of racial background, the UC
application now only considers economic background and
"difficulties" because of the passage of Proposition 209, which
eliminated the use of race as a consideration in admissions.
Increased competition could most drastically affect UCLA and UC
Berkeley, two campuses that have already suffered significant
setbacks at the hands of Proposition 209. To combat these drops,
Atkinson said the university will continue to guarantee every
qualified student admission to one of its campuses.
The UC Board of Regents named accommodating enrollment growth a
top priority in its 1998-99 budget and plans to focus its efforts
on creating more classrooms, reducing teacher-student ratios and
expanding on-campus housing facilities at all nine campuses.
The San Diego, Santa Cruz, Irvine and Riverside campuses are
witnessing the most rapid rates of enrollment growth.
Additionally, the passage of Proposition 1A last week will
provide extensive capital projects throughout the UC system,
creating more and safer space for students.
"We expect the peak (student population) to come around 2005,"
Colvin said.
"By that time, we should have some significant construction
completed from Prop. 1A and, by that time, we will also hopefully
have opened UC Merced," he said.
This year also marks the first time applications for admission
are available online.
According to the latest numbers, some 6,000 prospective students
have downloaded the UC application from the university’s Internet
application center (http://www.ucop.edu/pathways).
Also, based on the number of electronic applications, which have
been available over the Internet since September, UC admissions
officers expect over 10 percent of this year’s applicants to submit
their paperwork electronically.
Through outreach efforts, the Board of Regents has repeatedly
emphasized its continued commitment to admitting a freshman class
at each campus that reflects the ethnic and social diversity of the
state’s population.
The UC "will make every effort to accommodate the aspirations of
all qualified students," Atkinson said.
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