This post was updated Aug. 3 at 9:20 p.m.
The UC announced Monday that it admitted its largest-ever number of California undergraduate students in the 2024-2025 admissions cycle.
The University admitted nearly 150,000 first-year students from a pool of over 205,000 applicants, resulting in a 73% systemwide admission rate – an increase from last year’s rate of 66%, according to a Monday press release from the UC Office of the President. The admissions rate for first-year California residents sat higher at 77%, with the number of in-state admits increasing over 7% from fall 2024.
UCLA, the most applied-to university in the United States, received 145,058 applications and admitted 13,660 students for its fall 2025 freshman class, resulting in an acceptance rate of about 9.42% – a slight increase from last year. Sixty-three percent of UCLA admits were California residents, while out-of-state and international students comprised 26% and 11% of offers, respectively.
The UC maintained racial diversity in its admissions, according to data released by UCOP. Asian students were the largest racial group admitted to UCLA, making up 40% of admits. Hispanic or Latino students remained the most represented UC-wide at 39%.
The U.S. Department of Justice announced an investigation into UCLA, UC Berkeley and UC Irvine in March over whether the universities used “DEI discrimination” and prioritized race over merit when admitting students. A spokesperson for the UC Office of the President said in response to the investigation that the UC has not used affirmative action since California’s ban on the practice took effect with the incoming class of 1998 but collects students’ race and ethnicity for “statistical purposes only” and does not share the data with application reviewers.
[Related: Department of Justice investigates UCLA for alleged use of affirmative action]
Women consisted of 54% of first-year admits across UC campuses, while men constituted 42%, following a broader national trend of fewer men enrolling in four-year colleges.
The UC also admitted over 100,000 first-year California students for the first time in its history. First-year applicants from California who graduated in the top nine percent of their high school class or are in the top nine percent of the state are guaranteed admission to at least one UC campus.
“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,” said Han Mi Yoon-Wu, UC’s associate vice provost and executive director for Undergraduate Admissions, in the press release. “We are proud to offer these exceptional young people a place at the University of California.”
The UC 2030 Capacity Plan, created by the UC Council of Chancellors working group in 2022, intended to increase enrollment by 23,000 students. This included prioritizing California students by replacing around 25% of anticipated enrollment growth from out-of-state students at UCLA, UC San Diego and UC Berkeley with California students.
Gov. Gavin Newsom proposed to reduce the UC’s budget by $396.6 million earlier this year – which was reduced to $129.7 million in May – but the state legislature rejected any cuts to the UC’s funding in the final budget. However, it did defer a $31 million allocation to support the replacement of nonresidents with in-state students to the 2027-2028 fiscal year.
[Related: Gov. Gavin Newsom, California State Legislature reach final state budget agreement]
Nearly 28,000 California Community College students – half of whom reported low family income – were offered admission to the UC, a nearly 6% increase from last year.
[Related: California Community Colleges offer affordable option for in-state students]
The UC saw a 9% and 17% increase in offers made to out-of-state and international students, respectively. In the press release, UCOP attributed the increased number of international student admits to “rising uncertainty of their likelihood of enrolling.”
The Trump administration revoked the visas of at least 19 UCLA students and alumni in April as part of a U.S. Department of State-led campaign that targeted over 1,800 international students nationwide who had interacted with law enforcement – even for minor charges, such as traffic violations.
[Related: Students who had visas revoked were previously arrested, USAC meeting reveals]
A DOJ attorney announced April 25 that it planned to restore students’ visas while U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement developed a consistent “framework for status record termination.”
[Related: Trump administration announces restoration of international students’ visas]
Several UCLA administrators sent out an email March 19 that urged students from nations “subject to travel restrictions or geopolitical instability” to reevaluate travel deemed nonessential, as reentry requirements could be subject to change. The email also outlined checking travel advisories, confirming travel documentation and preparing for potential U.S. entry screenings.
The Trump administration also issued a proclamation June 4 banning travelers from 12 countries and partially restricting the entry of nationals from seven other countries.
“Evolving global incidents and federal travel policies may cause disruptions, so we strongly encourage you to stay informed and review the following guidelines to ensure a smooth and secure journey,” the administrators said in the email.
[Related: Students impacted by Trump administration travel ban, fear loss of connection]
Fall enrollment data for each of the campuses is expected to be released in December.
“We continue to experience significant growth — a clear indication that Californians recognize the value of a UC degree,” said UC President Michael Drake, who will step down at the end of July, in the press release. “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.”
