The number of students accepting offers of admission from UC Davis has leveled off for fall 2007 — a year after the campus enrolled the largest freshman class in the history of the University of California.

With some attrition since the May deadline, the current number of admitted students with active statements of intent to register is 5,247, about 700 fewer than the number who had expressed their intent to register last fall, when UC Davis enrolled the record freshman class.

UC Davis aims to enroll about 4,850 to 4,950 new freshmen from California and elsewhere in the fall. Some attrition always occurs throughout the summer, and it is expected this will result in a reduction in the number of freshmen who actually enroll in the fall. The campus expects to be able to house all freshmen who request housing, and some transfer students will also be accommodated in student housing.

Pamela Burnett, director of Undergraduate Admissions, said, "This year we reduced freshman admission offers by about 1,600, in order to enroll a smaller 2007 entering class."

UC Davis offered admission to 20,692, or 59.4 percent of the 34,854 students applying for freshman status for fall 2007. Last year, the university admitted 22,300 students, or 68.8 percent, from among 32,416 freshman applicants.

Last year, when almost 900 more freshman applicants than expected accepted offers of admission for fall 2006, UC Davis honored its commitment to them and enrolled an entering freshman class of 5,511.

To accommodate the large class, the campus added more than 100 classes, hired more instructors, added teaching facilities and converted some double rooms in its residence halls to accommodate three students.

Last year's high response was attributed, in part, to the success of enhanced marketing efforts — including publications, Web sites and presentations — and better coordination among campus units.

Changes for this year

UC Davis made some changes to better forecast the proportion of admitted students expected to accept offers to study at Davis and, therefore, the number of offers to make, Burnett said.

In setting the admissions target for fall 2007, the admissions office incorporated more factors that correlate with student choice, including recent patterns of choice for students who applied to Davis and other campuses.

The campus also is planning for about 1,800 new transfer students this fall, or 1.5 percent fewer than enrolled last fall. It has admitted 4,957 of 6,472 applicants from California community colleges.

In a May 1 projection, the Office of Resource Management and Planning estimated total UC Davis enrollment for the fall quarter — including continuing undergraduates and graduate students — would be 30,360 students, a decrease of 0.4 percent from last fall's 30,475. Enrollment is expected to average 29,130 across the three regular quarters of the 2007-08 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.

Regents scholars, diversity

Among the freshman applicants who accepted offers of admission are 57 recipients of the prestigious UC Regents Scholarship, a merit-based award valued at a minimum of $7,500 a year.

UC Davis has made some modest gains in better reflecting the mix of the state's population. As of May 31, a total of 5,247 freshman applicants from the U.S. accepted offers of admission, and, among those, 5,059 self-reported their ethnicity.

About 19.4 percent of the students from the U.S. reporting ethnicity are from historically underrepresented groups — African American, American Indian and Chicano/Latino. Last year, they accounted for 18.3 percent.

Impact for fall 2007

Because of the large freshman class that enrolled in 2006, UC Davis is offering incentives for summer study, in particular, courses to help relieve demand on those courses during the regular academic year.

Students completing major lab courses (Chemistry 118 A, B, C or Physics 7 A, B, C) during the summer will qualify for a 50 percent credit for those courses that will be applied to their bill in the fall quarter.

UC Davis has a long tradition of offering university housing to all freshmen. Historically, about 90 percent of freshmen want to live in university housing.

Based on the preliminary numbers, Student Housing expects to accommodate about 4,365 freshmen and some additional transfer students.

Bob Smiggen, director of Student Housing, said triple rooms proved popular this year, and they will be available in two residential areas for those students requesting them for fall 2007. Savings for the triple rooms will be about $1,000 a year for each student, compared with the cost of a double room.

Systemwide information is available at http://www.ucop.edu/news/studstaff.html.