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Campus releases 2011-12 admissions data

By Janet Gilmore

By now, more than 13,600 students across the state and country, and from around the world, have received offers of admission from the University of California, Berkeley, for the 2011-12 freshman class.

On March 24, admissions officials posted the decisions online and later mailed an admissions packet to the 13,670 students offered admission. Students have until May 1 to decide whether they will enroll.

This year’s admitted class met or exceeded the very high academic accomplishments of the students offered admission to the 2010-11 freshman class. The majority of this year’s admitted students, approximately 70 percent of them, are California residents.

The overall admitted class includes national champions in debate; Junior Olympians in field hockey, ice skating and track-and-field; a classical pianist who is also a nationally-ranked skier; and a young magician who turned his illusionist skills into a business opportunity.

“We are bringing in yet another outstanding class that represents a diversity of backgrounds from around the world,” said Walter Robinson, UC Berkeley assistant vice chancellor and director of undergraduate admissions, “and we think that kind of diversity is value-added to the undergraduate experience.”

A record number of students applied for admission to the freshman class, more than 52,900, resulting in an admissions rate of 21 percent for those students offered admission starting in fall 2011. The combined admissions rate for those offered admissions starting in the fall, along with those offered admission starting in spring (when more spaces become available after December graduations), is 25 percent. Both admissions rates are comparable to those of the 2010-11 admitted class.

In addition to academic performance, UC Berkeley’s admissions process evaluates student applicants based on a host of factors including leadership skills, persistence, and how students took advantage of the opportunities available to them or overcame obstacles they faced.

The campus plans to enroll 4, 200 students for the fall 2011 semester and an additional 950 for the spring 2012 term. Last year, 4,100 was the target for the fall 2010 semester, and the spring 2011 target was 950.

Over the last few years, campus officials have been increasing the number of out-of-state and international students offered freshman admission, an effort designed not only to bring in more funding during difficult economic times, but to broaden the diversity of the campus population, adding to it students from a wide range of cultures, experiences, and perspectives.

Admitted students from states outside of California and in U.S. territories include those from Washington, D.C., Guam, Montana, Wyoming and North and South Dakota. The top represented states are: Texas, Washington state, New Jersey, New York and Illinois.

International students represent 74 countries including Botswana, Denmark, Macedonia and Rwanda. The top five represented countries are: China, South Korea, Canada, India and Singapore.

Campus officials continue their effort to bring California resident enrollment closer in line with the actual funding levels provided by the state, levels that have not kept pace with enrollment. However, admissions officials have stepped up their efforts to ensure that students who apply to and enroll at UC Berkeley represent a broad cross-section of the state’s communities.

Last year, Chancellor Robert Birgeneau provided approximately $250,000 in student outreach funding to facilitate the effort to reach out to a broader cross-section of California students through school visits and community-based events. That California student outreach funding is expected to continue next year.

The California residents offered admission hail from almost every corner of the state. All counties are represented except Alpine, Modoc, Sierra, and Tehama. The counties with the most admitted students are Alameda, Los Angeles, Orange, San Diego and Santa Clara.

A review of the overall admitted class, excluding internationals, shows that the number of underrepresented students (African Americans, Chicano-Latinos and American Indians) offered admission increased for the coming school year. For 2011-2012, 2,199 underrepresented students were offered admission compared to 2,025 last year. The number of students from families where neither parent has a four-year college degree remains comparable to last year, at 31 percent; and grade point averages for all admitted freshman students remained the same with a slight increase in SAT scores.

For more detailed data, please see the UC Berkeley admissions charts ,  which show combined admit  data for California residents and non-residents. Additional admissions data is available via the University of California systemwide website, which shows statistics from all campuses in the UC system, generally focusing on California residents.