UC schools have a wait list of 10,700 applicants

April 15, 2010

Nearly 11,000 high school seniors statewide were offered a spot on one or more of the University of California’s controversial new waiting lists for admission. [Los Angeles Times]

A spokesperson for the UC admissions office described 2010 as the most competitive admissions cycle in the university system’s history. Gaining acceptance into a UC school has become even more challenging during the last two years due to the budget-related reductions in the freshman class by ten percent.

Of the 82,056 California applicants to the UC, 71.6 percent were admitted to at least one of the nine undergraduate campuses, down from 72.5 percent last year. More out-of-state and foreign students were offered admission, especially at UC Berkeley.

Seven UC campuses introduced waiting lists this year (Merced and UCLA are the exceptions). Accepted students have until April 15 to declare their intentions. Students are the waiting lists will be notified in May if they have late acceptance.

UCLA accepted only 21 percent of in-state applicants. UC Berkeley admitted 24.5 percent. By contrast, UC Merced accepted 78 percent.

The typical student applied to three different UC campuses.