According to the enrollment data for the year 2025 released on July 28th, the University of California (UC) system has set a new record for the total number of in-state students admitted this fall, with only UC Berkeley and UCLA experiencing a slight decline.
This growth is mainly attributed to a significant increase in the number of in-state students admitted to UC Merced and UC Riverside, while UC Davis and UC Santa Cruz also saw slight increases.
UC President Michael Drake stated in a press release, “The continued growth in our admissions numbers clearly indicates that Californians recognize the value of a UC education.”
According to university data, this year the UC system admitted nearly 150,000 first-year students (including both in-state and out-of-state students) from a pool of 205,348 applicants, representing a 9% increase from the previous year.
Of these admissions, nearly 101,000 are in-state students, accounting for 77% of UC’s admitted freshmen and marking a new high in in-state admissions.
However, the data shows that the number of in-state students admitted to UC Berkeley and UCLA is significantly lower compared to other campuses.
UC Berkeley admitted nearly 9,900 in-state students, an 8% decrease from the previous year, while UCLA admitted nearly 8,600 California students, a 2.4% decrease from the previous year.
In contrast, UC Merced admitted around 42,000 California students, an increase of 17,500 students from last year, representing a 72% growth. UC Riverside saw a 46% increase in in-state admissions, admitting nearly 54,000 students from California.
The in-state admission figures for other campuses are as follows: UC Davis admitted approximately 26,000 students, Irvine campus admitted around 19,000 students, San Diego campus admitted around 22,000 students, Santa Barbara campus admitted around 24,000 students, and Santa Cruz campus admitted over 37,000 students.
This increase in admissions is part of an agreement between California Governor Gavin Newsom and the UC system. The Newsom administration has pledged to provide more funding each year in exchange for an increase in the admission slots for in-state students.
UC has committed to offering admission slots within the system to California students who rank in the top 9% of their high school or the state, regardless of standardized test scores.
Han Mi Yoon-Wu, UC’s Vice Provost and Executive Director for Undergraduate Admissions, expressed, “Creating pathways to UC education for more outstanding California students benefits not only them individually but also positively impacts the entire state. We are honored to provide learning opportunities for these exceptional young individuals.”
Furthermore, UC also admitted nearly 28,000 transfer students from California community colleges, a 6% increase from last year.
At the same time, the number of international students admitted by the system this year increased by approximately 3,300 students, a 17% increase from the previous year.
UC explained that this increase is necessary to ensure the final enrollment numbers as the actual registration rate of international students is lower. Thus, they needed to expand the number of admissions to meet enrollment targets.
In the early stages of his second term, former President Trump criticized American universities for placing too much emphasis on admitting international students. The federal government launched investigations on campuses including Stanford University and the UC system to determine if they were violating the 2023 Supreme Court ruling prohibiting the use of race as a factor in admissions.
US Attorney General Pam Bondi stated, “President Trump and I are committed to ending illegal discrimination and restoring opportunities based on merit. Every American student should be evaluated solely on their efforts, intelligence, and character, not skin color.”
Additionally, the US Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights announced a new round of investigations on July 23 targeting five universities, including the University of Louisville, the University of Nebraska at Omaha, the University of Miami, the University of Michigan, and Western Michigan University, for alleged discrimination in scholarship programs against domestic students.
The Trump administration recently requested the State Department to halt the issuance of international visas to new students at Harvard University and revoked some student visas in May citing national security concerns.