University sees steep rise in top California applicants
UCLA has received more applications than ever before for fall 2022 admission, with substantial increases among in-state freshman applicants and top-performing students from California high schools.
Overall freshman applications totaled approximately 149,700, about 10,000 more than last year, making UCLA once again the most applied-to four-year university in the nation.
Roughly 91,500 applications came from California residents, an increase of 7,400, or 9%, over applications for 2021. The number of nonresident applicants grew by 5%, from 55,300 last year to more than 58,200.
Outpacing the overall growth in in-state applicants, UCLA saw an extraordinary 32% increase in California applicants projected to be among the top 9% in their high school class, as determined by the University of California’s Eligibility in the Local Context program.
“UCLA’s incredible academic and residential experience continues to draw tremendous interest within and outside the state,” said Youlonda Copeland-Morgan, UCLA’s vice provost for enrollment management. “It’s particularly exciting to see the quality and accomplishments of applicants from California’s high schools, especially considering the challenges they have had to overcome in the last two years.”
The number of freshman applicants from several underrepresented groups continued to rise this year, even after unprecedented increases in 2021, driven in part by UCLA’s community partnerships and outreach efforts, as well as the removal of standardized testing as a requirement for admission. UCLA continues to receive more applications from African American, Chicano/Latino and Native American students than any other campus in the UC system.
Applications also grew by 19% among low-income Californians and by 8% among prospective first-generation college students from California.
UCLA is committed to providing greater access and opportunity to California residents, and the campus plans to enroll substantially more new California undergraduates in 2022 and the coming years, in alignment with UC’s agreement with the state Legislature to cap nonresident undergraduate enrollment at 18% by 2026.
“We are humbled by the continued interest in UCLA by so many incredible students from our high schools and community colleges throughout California,” said Gary Clark, UCLA’s director of undergraduate admission. “The partnerships we have created with counselors, community-based organizations, districts, students and families have encouraged top students from all backgrounds to consider the possibility of becoming a Bruin.”
Transfer applications were down 12% this year, both at UCLA and across the UC system, reflecting the decline in California community college enrollment during the pandemic. Though the number of UCLA transfer applicants fell from 28,500 to just under 25,000, the campus once again received the largest number of transfer applications in the UC system.
UCLA will notify freshman applicants of admission decisions by April 1, and admitted students will have until May 1 to notify the campus of their intent to register. Transfer students will be notified of admission decisions by April 30 and will have until June 1 to commit.
