The University of California (UC) has shifted to favor more incoming students from California, versus out-of-state and international applicants for the 2022–23 school year.
According to data released by the UC system, which has nine undergraduate campuses, 85,268 freshmen students from within the state were admitted in 2022, up 1.2 percent from the 84,223 in 2021.
UC President Michael V. Drake, M.D., said it was a privilege to offer admission to the largest-ever class of California freshmen.
“The University’s enduring dedication to California’s young people and its partnership with the state continue to attract unprecedented numbers of talented Golden State students,” Drake said in a press release.
This record number is a continuing trend since last year’s increase.
Out-of-state admissions, 22,798 in 2022, are down 19 percent from 28,157 in 2021. International applicant numbers have also dropped—17,531 in 2022 versus 19,973 in 2021.
Critical state funding has led to more subsidized in-state admissions at the nine campuses—Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, Santa Barbara, and Santa Cruz.
State funding can greatly influence the acceptance rate of in-state and out-of-state applicants as out-of-state students are paying higher tuition, allowing the universities to harvest higher profits.
After protests calling for the UC to serve more Californians, Gov. Gavin Newsom and the state Legislature allocated $82.5 million to raise in-state student enrollment by 5,632 students in the 2022–23 school year.
“The University is proud to be the college of choice for so many outstanding Californians as it continues to honor its commitment to guarantee admission to high-performing high school students,” said Han Mi Yoon-Wu, the executive director of the UC’s undergraduate admissions.
Of the Californian applicants admitted, 44 percent will be the first in their family to earn a bachelor’s degree, and 47 percent are admitted despite having low family incomes, UC said.
Regarding ethnic diversity, this year the numbers of students from underrepresented groups have increased to 43.8 percent, a 2.5 percent increase from last year.
This year, the number of white students accepted dropped to 18.6 percent of admitted students—a 6 percent decrease.
Despite the many celebrations in the UC system from prioritizing students within the state, freshmen admission numbers have dropped by 5.1 percent this year to 125,597.
However, the admission rate for state residents fell from 65.7 percent in 2021 to 64.4 percent in 2022 because the number of applications greatly outpaced the number of offers made.
