The University of California, Davis, has offered admission to a total of 20,473 students applying for freshman status for fall 2007 -- or about 1,700 fewer than last fall when the campus enrolled the largest entering freshman class in the university system's history.

UC Davis admitted 58.7 percent of 34,854 freshman applicants. Last year, the university admitted 22,191 students, or 68.5 percent, from among 32,416 freshman applicants.

"Admission was more competitive this year, and we were pleased with the socioeconomic, racial and geographic diversity we were able to achieve, despite the level of competition," said Pamela Burnett, director of Undergraduate Admissions.

"UC Davis is accessible to qualified students from a broad range of California communities," she added.

After a higher proportion of applicants than expected accepted offers for freshman admission last year, UC Davis honored its commitment to them and enrolled an entering freshman class of 5,511. Burnett said she attributes last year's high response, in part, to the success of enhanced marketing efforts -- including publications, Web sites and presentations -- and better coordination among campus units.

This fall, UC Davis aims to enroll about 4,800 new freshmen from California and elsewhere, similar to last year's target, but fewer than last fall's actual entering freshman class. The campus also is planning for about 1,800 new transfer students this fall, or 1.5 percent fewer than enrolled last fall.

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

In a Jan. 31 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 30,340 students, a decrease of 0.5 percent from last fall's 30,475. Enrollment is expected to average 29,110 over 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.

Thousands of admitted students and their families will participate in four special days of tours and presentations that will begin Friday, and more are expected to attend Picnic Day, UC Davis' annual open house on Saturday, April 14.

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

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 3.89, up from 3.84 for last fall.

With a policy change this year, UC Davis guaranteed admission to all qualified applicants through UC's Eligibility in the Local Context criteria. These admitted students meet UC's definition of being in the top 4 percent of their own high school graduating class.

Admitted freshmen by ethnicity

The campus has admitted 19,268 California high school students, for a 7.3 percent decrease from last year's 20,791.

Students from underrepresented groups -- American Indian, African American and Chicano/Latino -- account for 19.1 percent of California students with freshman admission status who stated their ethnicity. Last year, the figure was 17.3 percent.

The percentage of African Americans rose from 2.8 percent last year to 3.1 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 15.3 percent this year, compared with 13.8 percent last year.

The percentage of Asian American students declined to 41.3 percent of this year's admitted students who stated their ethnicity, compared with 43 percent last year. Caucasians continued to represent 37.9 percent of admitted students who stated their ethnicity. Those who identified with other ethnic groups account for 1.6 percent of all admitted students stating their ethnicity, compared with 1.8 percent last year.

This year and last, 5.6 percent of all admitted California freshmen students declined to state their ethnicity.

Changes in numbers

The number of admitted California freshman students identifying themselves as members of underrepresented groups increased by 2.2 percent, from 3,406 last year to 3,481 this year.

The numbers are as follows: Chicanos and Latinos increased from 2,707 to 2,792, or 3.1 percent; African Americans increased from 566 to 567, or 0.1 percent; and the number of American Indians declined from 133 to 122, or 8.3 percent.

Students identifying themselves as Asian American this year declined by 10.5 percent, from 8,435 to 7,546, and Caucasians declined by 7 percent, from 7,441 to 6,921. Those who identified themselves as being from other ethnic groups declined 15.3 percent, from 352 to 298.

Those who declined to state their ethnicity decreased 11.6 percent, from 1,157 to 1,022.

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/fall2007adm.html.