University of California Admits Record Number of In-State Applicants, Led by Chicano/a, Latino/a Students

• The University of California system admitted over 157,000 applicants for the 2023-2024 school year.
• A record number of first-year California students were admitted, with the largest group consisting of those who identify as Chicano/a or Latino/a.
• While the total number of transfer students increased slightly, the number of transfers from California community colleges had a minor decline.

The University of California (UC) admitted its largest class ever of applicants from California, led by students who identify as Chicano/a or Latino/a, according to a report released by the system.

Chicano/a and Latino/a students made up around 38%, or 33,198 students, of California first-year admissions, up from 37%, or 31,763 students, from last year.

Asian American students accounted for 34% of admissions, while 19% are white students, 5% are African American, and 1% are American Indians from California.

Additionally, 44% of first-year California students admitted this cycle are first-generation college students, up slightly from last year.

Overall, the university system accepted 157,446 students. Out of the 129,685 first-year students admitted, 88,285 are from the state of California, an all-time high. The system could see California first-year admissions increase substantially in the next few years, up to an additional 33,000 students by 2030, according to the Los Angeles Times.

The University’s latest admissions data reflects our commitment to expanding opportunity and to ensuring that students of all backgrounds have a chance to attend one of our excellent undergraduate campuses, UC President Michael V. Drake, M.D., said in a statement.

We're pleased to support thousands more Californians who wish to pursue a higher education, benefiting themselves and communities across the state.

UC Santa Cruz had the highest number of admissions in the system, increasing by over 12,000 students from last year to a total of over 43,000 first-year students for the upcoming academic year.

All campuses across the UC system increased their admissions except for the Berkeley and Los Angeles campuses, where admission decreased by less than 100, and UC Merced, where admission decreased by a few thousand students.

Transfer Students

The university system admitted approximately 27,700 transfer students, with 24,700 of them from California community colleges.

While the total number of community college transfers declined, the acceptance rate rose to 77.5%, which UC says is partially due to the fact that the system is still feeling the effects of a pandemic-induced enrollment decline.

UC San Diego and UC Santa Barbara accepted the highest number of transfer students, about 12,000 and 10,000, respectively.

Most UC campuses — besides the campuses at Berkeley, Los Angeles, and San Diego — offer guaranteed admission to students from any California community college if they meet campus-specific criteria.