The University of California admitted a record number of California resident first-year students for fall 2023, extending admission offers to 88,285 of them, a 3.5% increase over last year.
The increases come after this year’s state budget included a 5% increase in UC’s base funding, which Gov. Gavin Newsom and state lawmakers awarded UC with the expectation that the system of nine undergraduate campuses would enroll more California residents.
UC also admitted slightly more transfer students from California community colleges.
UC also accepted more Latino students for fall 2023. By admitting 33,198 Latino students, those students represented 38% of the admitted first-year students, up from 37% a year ago.
Among campuses, the biggest increase in admission offers was at UC Santa Cruz, which admitted 44% more first-year California students than it did a year ago.
Whether the higher admission numbers result in more students actually enrolling at UC won’t be known for months. Most UC campuses don’t resume classes until September and the university system typically doesn’t announce fall enrollment data until months after that. But the system’s president, Michael Drake, said in a statement Tuesday that the latest admission data reflects UC’s “commitment to expanding opportunity.”
“We’re pleased to support thousands more Californians who wish to pursue a higher education, benefitting themselves and communities across the state,” he added.