UC Davis has accepted fewer than one in two freshman applicants from California high schools in a year of both record-setting applications and enrollment curtailed by budget cuts.

With a record high of 39,288 applicants from California high schools, UC Davis admitted 18,146, or 46.2 percent, to begin freshman studies in fall 2009. Last year, the university admitted 19,762, or 52.4 percent, of 37,747 freshman applicants from California high schools.

Among these admitted students, the mean grade point average increased from last year’s 3.94 to 4.0; also showing gains were the average scores on admission tests and the percentage from the top 4 percent of their high school class.

At the same time, UC Davis had increases in the percentages of those admitted whose parents have not earned a degree from a four-year college; who are from low-income families; and who are from a high school in the lower 40 percent of California high schools, as ranked by the Academic Performance Index.

Acceptance rate drops 6.2 percent

Students from traditionally underrepresented groups account for almost 22 percent of California students with freshman admission status who stated their ethnicity.

Overall, UC Davis admitted about 19,564 students for freshman studies, representing 46.2 percent of 42,374 applicants. Last year, the campus admitted 21,264, or 52.4 percent of the 40,608 applicants for freshman status.

California high school students represent about 92.7 percent of admitted freshmen. Admissions for fall 2009 also include 805 out-of-state students and 613 international students, respectively about 4.1 percent and 3.1 percent of all admitted freshmen.

“UC Davis has offered places to an exceptional group of freshman applicants,” said Pamela Burnett, director of Undergraduate Admissions. “While admission has become even more selective and these admitted students show gains in academic measures, we are pleased with the rich diversity of the admitted students and the backgrounds from which we welcome them.”

About 3,000 admitted students and their families visited Davis last Saturday for Decision Day, a special program of tours and presentations to help them become more familiar with the campus.

Thousands more are expected to visit campus on April 17 for another Decision Day and on April 18 for Picnic Day, UC Davis’ annual open house.

Enrollment to decrease

This fall, UC Davis aims to enroll about 4,600 new freshmen from California and elsewhere. Last year, the campus enrolled 4,972 new freshmen. UC Davis’ enrollment target is in keeping with a UC Board of Regents decision to reduce freshman enrollment to cope with insufficient state funding for enrollment growth and continuing budget cuts.

The campus also is planning for about 2,000 new students to transfer from another college or university this fall compared with the 1,930 who enrolled last fall. The admissions office will continue to notify 8,985 transfer applicants of admission decisions through mid-April.

In a Jan. 28 projection, the campus Office of Resource Management and Planning estimated total UC Davis enrollment for the upcoming fall quarter — including continuing undergraduates and graduate students — would be 31,480 students, an increase of 0.17 percent from last fall’s 31,426. Enrollment is expected to average 30,230 over the three regular quarters of the 2009-10 academic year.

Total enrollment includes students who will study at locations outside of Davis, such as the UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento and the UC Washington and Education Abroad programs. Enrollment is usually lower in winter and spring quarters.

Admitted freshmen have until May 1 and admitted transfers have until June 1 to indicate their intent to register at UC Davis. Students can indicate their choice to attend UC Davis online at myadmissions.ucdavis.edu.

Admitted freshmen by ethnicity

Students from underrepresented groups — American Indian, African American and Chicano/Latino — account for 21.9 percent of California students with freshman admission status who stated their ethnicity.

Last year, the figure was 20.6 percent. In the context of fewer places overall, the number of admitted students identifying themselves as members of underrepresented groups decreased by 0.8 percent, from 3,831 last year to 3,799 this year.

Systemwide admissions numbers, including those for the Davis campus, are accessible through a Web site of the Office of the President: ucop.edu/news/factsheets/fall2009adm.html.