Out-of-state student admissions spike at University of California

kyamamura@sacbee.com

Published Wednesday, Apr. 18, 2012

The University of California system accepted a record number of 80,289 freshmen for this fall, including a 43 percent increase in students from outside California who would pay higher tuition rates, according to preliminary data released Tuesday.

The system's nine undergraduate schools saw a combined record 126,455 applicants this year despite massive tuition hikes in the wake of state budget cuts. The systemwide acceptance rate dropped from 69.7 percent last year to 65.8 percent.

Gov. Jerry Brown has proposed spending 21 percent less in 2012-13 than the state did in 2007-08, while undergraduate resident tuition has increased 84 percent, according to the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst's Office. Between 2007-08 and 2011-12, the number of nonresident students, who pay tuition above what it costs to educate them, increased by about a third.

For this fall, UC accepted 18,846 out-of-state and international students, compared with 13,144 last year, a 43 percent rise. By comparison, the number of residents admitted increased by only 3.6 percent, from 59,288 students to 61,443 students.

UC was quick to point out that out-of-state students typically decline admission offers more than California residents and that the system expects to remain below its 10 percent cap on out-of-state population.

Every campus except UC Berkeley saw a rise in out-of-state and international admissions. The biggest spike in non-California admits came at UC San Diego, which saw a 75 percent increase. Berkeley, on the other hand, saw a 12.5 percent decrease in non-California admits.