University of California see highest ever applications and recorded their lowest ever admissions rate

Securing a place as an undergraduate at the University of California has become more difficult than ever, as 100,000 students applied this year. “It’s the highest number of applicants we’ve ever had and the fewest we’ve offered admissions,” said Don Daves-Rougeaux, the university’s associate director of undergraduate admissions articulation and eligibility. 

 UCLA was the most selective of UC’s nine undergraduate campus, admitting only 21 percent of freshman applicants. UC Berkeley admitted 24.5 percent of applicants, including students that got offers to start college in spring 2011. However,  UC Berkeley had the highest average grade-point average for incoming freshmen, at 4.19.

For the first time, UC placed about 10,700 applicants on waiting lists for campuses to which they applied.

The proportion of nonresident students who got admission offers increased to 14 percent, up from 12 percent last year. Admission offers to nonresident applicants jumped most dramatically at UC Berkeley, where out-of-state and international students received about 27 percent of freshman admission offers, up from 14 percent last year.