UC system sees record number of applicants

Applications to the University of California have hit a record
high for the 2005-2006 academic year even though several UC
campuses ““ including UCLA ““ saw a decrease in their
number of applications, according to data released Wednesday by the
UC Office of the President.

The total number of applicants to the UC system was 100,138,
which is an increase of 0.9 percent over last year’s
application total.

Applicants to UCLA dropped from 56,916 in 2004 to 55,205 in
2005, a 3 percent decrease. UC Davis saw the largest decrease in
applications ““ 4 percent this year.

Though admittedly difficult to pinpoint a single reason for the
overall increase in applications, Ravi Poorsina, a spokeswoman for
UCOP, attributed the hike in applications systemwide to an increase
in the number of UC-eligible California high school students.

“More people are eligible every year,” she said.
“Increasingly, people coming out of California high schools
are meeting eligibility requirements.”

In addition, she cited the ever-growing California population as
a significant contributing factor to the data.

A possible reason for the discrepancy between an overall
increase and such significant decreases in applications at specific
campuses like UCLA and UC Davis may be the introduction of the
UC’s tenth and newest campus in Merced.

Applications to UC Merced, which totaled 8,883, exceeded the
expectations of both UCOP and UC Merced officials.

“We are thrilled with this response from students and
pleased to say the number of applicants has even exceeded our
expectations,” UC Merced Chancellor Carol Tomlinson-Keasey
said in a statement.

The statistics broke down the data not only by campus, but also
by freshman applicants versus transfer applicants. While the number
of freshman applicants increased by 2.8 percent systemwide,
transfer applications saw a decrease of close to the same amount
““ 2.7 percent.

To account for the significant reduction in transfer
applications to the UC, Poorsina cited increasingly stricter
federal immigration policies, as well as higher out-of-state fees,
as many of those classified as transfer applicants are
international students.

But for those who did apply, Poorsina said, “If
they’re eligible, we expect to be able to offer them a spot
in the system.”

Overall, officials were pleased with the application
turnout.

“Our general reaction to all the data is positive,”
Poorsina said.

With reports from Harold Lee, Bruin staff.