A deeper look at rising admissions at the University of California
New data released by the University of California last week shows a number of changes, as well as continuities, when compared to past years of admissions and enrollment. As explained by Michael Burke in EdSource’s coverage, the number of first-year Californians admitted to a UC campus increased over last year, but the gains were concentrated at less selective schools — especially UC Riverside and UC Merced. The most competitive campuses admitted fewer in-state students than in 2024.
It’s important to remember that California applicants, on average, each try their luck at four UC campuses and often are admitted to more than one, while also applying to other public and private colleges. Over recent years, the total first-year admissions to UC campuses — including in-state, out-of-state and international students — have climbed 42.2% from 2016 to 2025. Enrollments, on the other hand, have only gone up slightly, a 6.6% increase from 2016 to 2024 (the last year we have enrollment data for).
Many students admitted to less-selective UC campuses don’t end up enrolling in them. While in 2024 the percentages of admitted students enrolled at UCLA and Berkeley were 50% and 46%, at Riverside, Santa Cruz and Merced they were 12%, 9% and 7%, respectively.
The UC system, under pressure from policymakers, has continued to extend more admissions to in-state applicants. First-year admissions of California residents rose 42.5% from 2016 to 2025, with over 30,000 more in-state students admitted this year. In that same period, out-of-state admissions grew by 53.5%, peaking in 2021, and international admissions by 29.5% — both representing much smaller numbers than the gain in in-state admissions. The admissions of international students had its biggest increase in years from 2024-25 (a 17% bump), but this is in the context of uncertainty for international students. Dozens of these students at California colleges had their visas terminated, mostly without explanation, by the federal government; despite an about-face that reversed the decision weeks later, university administrators are worried about the impact on enrollments.
When it comes to race and ethnicity, there is more continuity than change in this year’s data in spite of the much-publicized retreat from diversity programs in higher education generally and an accusation by the Trump administration that some UC campuses were using DEI illegally. (California’s public colleges have been barred from considering race in admissions since Proposition 209 in 1996, long before 2023’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling banning affirmative action.)
Looking at year-over-year comparisons of the data we have, which is for first-year admissions of California residents, there is an increase in admissions for all demographic categories. Latino students are the biggest group, and have been since 2020, with a 7% increase from 2024 to 2025. Asian student admissions increased 8%, white students 6%, and African American students 8%.
It is worth noting that the enrollment yield — the percentage of students admitted to the UC system who wind up enrolling somewhere in the system — has been declining in recent years for in-state, first-year students. Enrollment data for 2025 is not yet available, but looking at figures from 2016 to 2024, there was a decline from 33% to 26% among Latino students, 46% to 41% for Asian students, 33% to 28% for white students, and 27% to 25% for African American students.
There are many factors that influence the enrollment yield for institutions of higher education. However, this is one to keep an eye on as the UC system continues to make progress in its efforts to expand opportunities for students in the state of California.
EdSource data journalist Daniel J. Willis contributed to this report.
