The UC admitted a record number of California resident first-year students for the 2026-27 admissions cycle, according to data released Wednesday.

The University admitted 153,272 first-year students from a pool of more than 205,000 applicants. The UC also admitted 102,031 California resident first-year students – 1,458 more than it did for the 2025-26 cycle – and the systemwide admission rate for California residents increased from 77% to 78%. 

UCLA – which has been the most applied-to school in the United States for several years – admitted 15,903 first-year students, resulting in an admissions rate of about 10.8%. The first-year admission rate for the 2025-26 academic year was 9.4%.

UCLA also admitted 6,796 transfer applicants, resulting in a transfer admission rate of about 22.2%. Eighty-five percent of UCLA’s transfer admits were California residents, and 92% transferred from California community colleges.

Fifty-seven percent of UCLA’s first-year admits were California residents, down from 63% during the 2025-26 cycle. 

The data reflects the University’s efforts to expand educational opportunities for students across the state, UC President James Milliken said in a Wednesday press release.

“For generations, a University of California education has been one of the state’s most powerful engines of social mobility, opening doors for talented students from every background and region of the state,” Milliken said in the press release. “The record number of California students we’re welcoming this year reflects UC’s enduring commitment to expanding opportunity while preparing the next generation of leaders, innovators, educators and public servants.” 

This increase aligns with the UC and California State University systems’ compact with Gov. Gavin Newsom. Under the compact, the University must increase California undergraduate enrollment by at least 1% annually for five years to receive increases in state funding.

In line with the compact, the University created the UC 2030 Capacity Plan, which aims to increase California resident undergraduate enrollment by 17,000 students. 

[Related: Gov. Gavin Newsom signs state budget, granting UC $350 million funding increase]

The UC also saw domestic out-of-state students and international students increase by around 5.4% and 6.5%, respectively.

The University saw a similar uptick in international student admissions last year, which could be a response to declining enrollment among the group in the wake of the Trump administration’s visa restrictions. 

The Trump administration revoked the visas of at least 19 UCLA students and alumni in April 2025. The federal government announced later that month that it would restore the 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]

Asian students remained the majority of admitted California resident first-year students at UCLA, representing about 42%. About a quarter of admitted UCLA students were Hispanic or Latino, 18% were white, 7% were African American, 1% were American Indian and less than 1% were Pacific Islander.

The federal government has alleged on multiple occasions over the past year that UCLA has illegally used affirmative action in its admissions processes. Chancellor Julio Frenk denied the allegations in a January interview with The Bruin. Race-based admissions have been illegal in California since 1998.

Low-income students – those with a weighted household income of $85,000 or less for 2026 – represented 43% of admitted California first-year students, totaling 44,335 admits. The UC admitted a total of 42,277 first-generation students from California for this year’s cycle, comprising 41% of the UC’s first-year admits.

“This year’s data show once again that a significant number of first-generation and low-income students are getting their shot at the American dream at public universities like UC,” said Han Yoon-Wu, the UC associate vice provost and executive director of undergraduate admissions, in the Wednesday press release. 

The University also admitted a record 29,372 California community college transfer students – an increase of about 6% from last year. Fifty-three percent of the admitted transfer students from California community colleges are low-income, and 46% are first-generation students. 

“I’m proud that UC continues to welcome talented and deserving students who have demonstrated the preparation and potential to succeed at one of the world’s leading public research universities, while expanding opportunity for students from communities across California,” Yoon-Wu said in the press release.