Limited admissions toughen competition

CORRECTIONS: 1. UCLA received 57,651 total applications and 47,112 in-state applications. 2. UCLA’s admissions rate was 22.6 percent overall and 21 percent for California residents.

Competition for spots at UCLA has increased slightly since last year, according to the 2010-2011 University of California freshman admissions data.

Of the total 57,651 applicants to UCLA, 13,020 ““ or about 22.6 percent ““ were admitted, compared to the total UC admissions rate of 71.6 percent of 100,428 applicants.

UCLA was the most selective of all nine UC campuses, with UC Berkeley following at 24.5 percent.

While UCLA reached its target of admitting at least 12,000 total applicants, only 9,890 of the admitted students were California residents, a slightly lower proportion than in fall 2009.

Because of the large number of UC-qualified applicants in the past, UCLA now carries an over-enrollment of 1,750 students, for whom the state provides no funding.

Consequently, UCLA must reduce the number of seats available for the 2010-2011 school year, in spite of a large number of qualified applicants, said Susan Wilbur, UC director of undergraduate admissions.

“It’s a difficult situation,” Wilbur said. “Elite private institutions can boast of small admissions rates, but for a system so committed to California education, it is painful to turn away such well-prepared students.”

To alleviate the university’s financial burden, UCLA admitted 3,123 out-of-state and international students, who pay higher student fees, in addition to its in-state target.

A total of 2,033 students of underrepresented minority backgrounds were admitted, compared to 1,971 last fall.

All UC campuses except for UCLA and Merced offered wait lists to allow 10,712 students the opportunity to be admitted into one of the UC campuses by the third week of April.

The limited spots, coupled with a larger and more robust applicant pool, brought about tighter competition this year, Wilbur said.

“In this hyper-competitive admissions environment, we advise that students apply broadly to enhance their chance of getting into a campus,” she said.