The University of California, Davis, offered freshman and transfer admission for fall 2018 to a total of 41,946 applicants — including 475 more California residents than last year.

UC Davis also saw gains in diversity, according to admissions statistics for the university system and campuses that were released today (July 11).

From a record 78,024 applications for freshman status, UC Davis admitted 32,179 applicants, an increase of 4.0 percent over last year’s 30,945. Among 17,671 transfer applicants, the campus admitted 9,767, a decrease of 5.7 percent from the previous year’s 10,354.

Ebony Lewis, executive director of Undergraduate Admissions at UC Davis, said the campus will be welcoming a diverse class of bright, talented students for fall study. “We are pleased to be making gains in helping applicants from California and beyond to receive a world-class education.”

California residents and transfer students

This year, California residents account for 19,448, or 60.4 percent, of the admitted freshmen. A total of 7,840, or approximately 80.3 percent, of the transfer students admitted are from California.

The campus admitted 968 more California freshman applicants and 493 fewer California transfer applicants than last year, for a net gain of 475 California residents.

Because California residents accept offers of admission and actually enroll at higher rates, the enrollment of nonresident undergraduates — new and continuing — is not expected to exceed the 18 percent cap that the UC Board of Regents established for UC Davis and four other campuses last year. 

In fact, UC Davis has enrolled the most California resident undergraduates of all UC campuses since 2010.

A leader in serving transfer students, UC Davis has already surpassed the systemwide goal of enrolling one new California resident transfer student for every two new California resident freshmen. Last fall, about 36 percent of new undergraduates were transfer students.

Diversity and HSI designation

The proportion of admitted applicants identifying themselves from historically underrepresented groups —  African American, American Indian and Chicano/Latino — increased.

Among admitted California freshmen, 31.0 percent are from historically underrepresented groups. Among domestic students admitted from California Community Colleges, 31.6 percent are from historically underrepresented groups.

Chicano and Latino applicants account for an increased proportion of admitted students — now 26.9 percent of admitted California freshmen and 26.0 percent of domestic students admitted from California Community Colleges.

In May, UC Davis announced that it had already met the eligibility requirements to apply for Hispanic Serving Institution, or HSI, designation status. An official HSI designation would allow the university to apply for federal grants to support all undergraduates with more programs, facility enhancements and aid.

Other measures

Among admitted California residents who reported the following demographic information, about 42 percent would be in the first generation of their family to graduate from a four-year university, and 38 percent are from low-income families.

Enrollment estimates

The campus estimates it will enroll a total of 9,300 new freshmen and transfer students this fall, an increase of about 43 new undergraduates from fall 2017.

Undergraduate enrollment, including new and continuing students, is expected to be about 30,400; total enrollment — including undergraduate, graduate and professional students — is expected to be approximately 39,000. While most of the enrolled students will be associated with the campus in Davis, about 2,000 of the 39,000 will be enrolled in programs outside of Davis.  

Statistics for the university system and UC Davis are available online.