The University of California, Davis, has offered admission to a record number of California high school students this year.

The campus has admitted 20,791 California high school students, for a 15.7 percent increase over last year's 17,284. The additional 3,507 admitted students represent a significant portion of the 5,225 additional freshmen admitted universitywide this year.

"This was an excellent year to apply to UC Davis as the campus continues to be in a growth mode," said Pamela Burnett, director of Undergraduate Admissions.

UC Davis aims to enroll about 4,850 new freshmen from California and elsewhere this fall, or 10.7 percent more than last fall; the campus also is planning for about 1,755 new transfer students this fall, or 1.4 percent more than last fall.

The Office of Resource Management and Planning projects total UC Davis enrollment for the fall quarter will be 29,910 students, an increase of 273, or less than 1 percent, over last fall's 29,637. Enrollment is expected to average 28,750 over the three regular quarters of the 2006-07 academic year.

Thousands of admitted students and their families are participating in a series of tours and presentations that will conclude Friday, and more are expected to attend Picnic Day, UC Davis' annual open house on Saturday, April 22.

Admitted freshmen have until May 1 to indicate their intent to register at UC Davis. Students can indicate their choice to attend UC Davis online at http://myadmissions.ucdavis.edu.

Evaluation

The admission rate for California freshmen -- who continue to account for more than 95 percent of all admitted freshmen -- increased from 62 percent of applicants last year to 68 percent.

Each one of the freshman applications was evaluated using comprehensive review, a process that takes into account academic, socioeconomic and personal achievements. Academic factors comprised about 75 percent of the possible weight for all criteria. The average grade point average of admitted California freshmen is 3.84.

Admitted freshmen by ethnicity

Students from underrepresented minorities -- American Indian, African American and Chicano/Latino -- account for 17.3 percent of California students with freshman admission status who stated their ethnicity. Last year, the figure was 16.2 percent.

The percentage of African Americans rose from 2.7 percent last year to 2.9 percent this year among students who stated their ethnicity. American Indians continue to represent 0.6 percent of admitted students. Chicanos and Latinos account for 13.8 percent this year, compared with 12.9 percent last year.

The percentage of Asian American students rose to 43 percent of this year's admitted students who stated their ethnicity, compared with 41.9 percent last year. Caucasians this year represent 37.9 percent of admitted students who stated their ethnicity, compared with 40.1 percent last year. Those who identified with other ethnic groups continue to account for 1.8 percent of all admitted students stating their ethnicity.

This year, 5.6 percent of all admitted California freshmen students declined to state their ethnicity, compared with last year's 6 percent.

Changes in numbers

The number of admitted California freshman students identifying themselves as members of underrepresented minorities increased by 29 percent, from 2,640 last year to 3,406 this year.

The numbers are as follows: Chicanos and Latinos, from 2,102 to 2,707, or 28.8 percent; African Americans, from 445 to 566, or 27.2 percent; and American Indians, from 93 to 133, or 43 percent.

Students identifying themselves as Asian American this year increased by 24 percent, from 6,804 to 8,435, and Caucasians increased by 14.2 percent, from 6,518 to 7,441. Those who identified themselves as being from other ethnic groups increased 21 percent, from 291 to 352.

Those who declined to state their ethnicity increased 12.2 percent, from 1,031 to 1,157.

Systemwide admissions numbers, including those for the Davis campus, are accessible through a Web site of the Office of the President at http://www.ucop.edu/news/factsheets/fall2006adm.html.