UCSB Receives 63,303 Applications for Fall 2011

The University of California, Santa Barbara has received 63,303 applications for undergraduate admission for fall 2011. The total is 4,311 more than last year¬ an increase of 7.3 percent.

Of the total applications:

– 49,015 applications were from prospective first-year students – 2,343 more than last year, a 5 percent increase.

– 14,288 were from applicants seeking to transfer to UCSB – 1,968 more than last year, a 16 percent increase.

The University of California system received a record 142,235 applications — 106,070 from freshman applicants and 36,165 from transfer applicants. All nine UC undergraduate campuses experienced increases in both categories. The UC Office of the President today posted statistics on undergraduate applications to all campuses on its Web site. .

UC Santa Barbara has target enrollments of 3,900 first-year students and 1,500 transfer students for the fall, the same as last year’s target numbers.

The campus’s director of admissions, Christine Van Gieson, said she was extremely pleased by the academic quality and diversity of this year’s applicant pool. “We have to applaud all the great work being done by our faculty and staff to get the word out about UC Santa Barbara and its outstanding programs, which is reflected in the increase in applications from both California residents and non-residents,” she said.

Applicants for the Fall 2011 Freshman Class

– The total number of applications received by UCSB for the freshman class is 2,343 greater than last year, an increase of 5 percent. All campuses in the UC system experienced increases in applications from prospective first-year students this year. Over all, freshman applications to the UC system increased by 5.7 percent. The system saw increases from California residents, out-of-state applicants, and international students.

– Of the 106,070 prospective freshmen applying to one or more UC campuses, close to half of them (46.2 percent) included UCSB among the campuses to which they applied.

– Californians account for 89.4 percent of UCSB’s undergraduate applicant pool.

Academic Quality of Prospective Freshmen

– The academic quality of UCSB’s applicant pool, as measured by grades and test scores, remains strong.

– Of the 49,015 applicants for the entering class, 16,121, or 33 percent, have a high-school Grade Point Average (GPA) of 4.0 or higher.

– The average GPA of all freshman applicants is 3.75.

– The average total score on the three-part SAT exam is 1,750 (down two points from last year).

Diversity of Applicants for the Fall 2011 Freshman Class

– Over all, applications from members of underrepresented minority groups were up. UCSB received a total of 15,305 freshman applications from African-American, American-Indian, and Chicano and Latino applicants combined, 788 more than last year, an increase of 13.2 percent. This total represents 32 percent of the applicant pool (vs. 29 percent the previous year).

– 59 percent of all applicants for the UCSB freshman class are members of a racial or ethnic minority group. (Individual applicants to UC are not identified to the campuses by race or ethnicity until all admission decisions have been made.)

– International applicants number 1,941, up from 1,466 last year.

Transfer Applicants

– 92 percent of the 14,288 applicants seeking to transfer to UCSB are currently enrolled in a California community college.

– The total number of transfer applications was 1,968 more than last year, an increase of 16 percent. All nine UC undergraduate campuses saw an increase in transfer applications.

– A total of 3,548 transfer applications were received from members of underrepresented minority groups, a 25 percent increase (718 applicants) over last year. Members of underrepresented minority groups accounted for 25 percent of all transfer applicants this year.

– Over the past two years, transfer applications to all UC campuses increased by 26 percent; at UCSB, the increase over that same period was 41.7 percent.