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January 31, 2000

Applications top 20,000 for fall 2000 enrollment at UC Santa Cruz

New report shows that increased interest in the campus is coming from all ethnic groups

By Jim Burns

UC Santa Cruz has received more than 20,000 applications from prospective students for the fall 2000 quarter, the highest number received by the campus in its 36-year history. The total is nearly 13 percent more than the campus received during last year's application period--and more than three times the increase in applications experienced by the University of California system as a whole.

See related article: Record enrollment and applications at UC
The fall-quarter applications data is contained in a report released by UC's Office of the President on January 27, 2000.

The report indicates that UCSC received 19,768 applications from prospective undergraduates (freshmen and transfer students) during the traditional November filing period. Since then, however, the campus has received an additional 400 applications, pushing the total received to date to 20,168 for fall 2000 enrollment.

In the UC report, UCSC's application total of 19,768 is 12.7 percent higher than last year's total of 17,542; the one-year UC-wide increase is 3.5 percent.

J. Michael Thompson, UCSC's associate vice chancellor for outreach, admissions, and student academic services, called the increase in UCSC applications "gratifying," adding that it "speaks to the quality of UCSC's faculty and programs, to the expansion of its academic offerings, and to the campus's increased success in telling the UCSC story to prospective students and their families."

This is the third fall application cycle in which UC has operated without affirmative action policies. Thompson noted that UCSC increased the enrollment of underrepresented minorities on campus the first two falls and is on track to do so again in fall 2000.

California freshman applications from African American students are up 20.6 percent at UCSC (3.6 percent systemwide); applications from American Indians are up 9.4 percent at UCSC (down 4.3 percent systemwide); applications from Asian Americans, who are underrepresented at UCSC, are up 17.8 percent on campus (up 2.6 percent systemwide); applications from Chicanos are up 23.5 percent at UCSC (up 6.3 percent systemwide); applications from Filipino Americans are up 12.9 percent at UCSC (up 2.3 percent systemwide); and applications from Latinos are up 8.2 percent at UCSC (6.4 percent systemwide).


California freshman applications to UCSC from white students are up 5.5 percent, compared to a systemwide decline of 0.3 percent.

"We are very pleased with the continued increase in the ethnic diversity of UCSC applicants," Thompson said. "UC Santa Cruz is proud of its role in providing access and opportunity to the future leaders of California."

The campus also saw an 11.6 percent increase in applications from students at California community colleges, compared to a systemwide increase of 0.1 percent. The UCSC increase reflects the campus's desire to meet the enrollment targets set two years ago by the UC president and the chancellor of the state community college system. In a memo of understanding, they hoped to increase by 33 percent the number of community college students transferring to UC campuses by the year 2005.

The campus's ongoing effort to make prospective students aware of the opportunities available to them at UCSC is a joint endeavor that involves the cooperation of faculty, staff, and, in particular, current students who are willing to share their experiences with high school seniors, noted Thompson. One of the most successful outreach programs administered by the Office of Admissions is "Taking UCSC Home," in which current UCSC students visit their old high schools to encourage students to consider attending UCSC. In its fourth year, the program has attracted new students to the campus who credit the university's "ambassadors" with helping them decide to enroll at UCSC, said Thompson.

Despite growing interest in the campus, UCSC remains committed to managing its growth to comply with long-range development plans, said Thompson, noting that UCSC will be selective about the students it chooses to enroll. From the more than 20,000 applicants, the campus expects to enroll 3,700 freshmen and new transfer students this coming fall, Thompson projected.

The next step in the undergraduate admissions cycle is to notify students of admission, which will take place on March 1. On April 15, the campus holds its annual open house, Banana Slug Spring Fair, which draws several thousand prospective students and their parents to campus. The deadline for students to notify the university of their plans to enroll as undergraduates in the fall is May 1.

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