Campus & community, Campus news

Campus releases freshman admission data

By Janet Gilmore

More than 12,800 students have been offered admission to the University of California, Berkeley’s 2014-15 freshman class, earning their spots during a highly selective admissions process, campus officials announced today (Friday, April 18).

As a group, the class of high achievers represents the cross-section of socio-economic backgrounds, cities and countries, interests, cultures and other factors that UC Berkeley values.

“We have an extremely talented pool of admitted students who have demonstrated outstanding academic achievement, leadership and drive,” said Amy Jarich, assistant vice chancellor and director of undergraduate admissions.

The Berkeley campus released its admissions data in coordination with the University of California Office of the President’s release today of 2014-15 admissions data for all campuses in the UC system.

Approximately 17 percent of the students who sought a spot in UC Berkeley’s freshman class were offered admission, down from the 20 percent admissions rate that the campus has seen in previous years. The change reflects a record high number of applications – more than 73,700 this year – and fewer offers.

UC Berkeley officials made fewer admissions offers this year, having moved to an enrollment management process that involves placing more students on a waiting list. This will allow the campus to come closer to reaching enrollment targets, a critical part of ensuring that the university provides sufficient housing, classes and advising services to students.

Students who remain interested in the wait list will be notified after May 1. At that point, UC Berkeley will know how many seats are available in the 2014-15 class, Jarich said. The 2014-15 final freshman enrollment number is projected to be approximately 3% higher than the 2013-14 school year enrollment.

This year’s admitted class includes winners of national competitions in robotics and debate; a ballerina who has danced internationally; numerous athletes who have competed in Junior Olympics competitions in sports including kayaking, fencing and archery; musicians, dancers and other artists who have performed at prestigious venues around the world; and an actor in a Disney Channel series. These newly admitted students speak more than 130 languages and dialects including Spanish, Chinese, Korean, Creole, Gujarati, French, Polish, Khmer and Arabic.

Students from outside of California represent 54 U.S. states and territories, with the largest numbers from Texas, Washington, New Jersey and Florida. International students represent more than 80 countries, primarily China, South Korea, India, Canada, Singapore and Great Britain.

Other data and information about the 2014-15 admitted class include the following:

  • Academics: The average GPA of the admitted class is 3.90 (4.0 scale); and the average SAT score is 2071
  • The youngest student offered admission is 16
  • Lower-performing high schools: Approximately 14 percent of the admitted students come from California high schools that place 1-5 on the Academic Performance Index scale (1-10 scale).
  • Underrepresented students: The number of admissions offers to underrepresented students (African American, Chicano/Latino, American Indian) increased to 2,420 for 2014-15, compared to 2,335 for 2013-14 and 2,298 a year prior to that.
  • California residents continue to make up the majority of students in the admitted class, with 8,290 state residents offered admission. These students are from 56 of California’s 58 counties, with Del Norte and Modoc not represented.

Students have until May 1 to submit to UC Berkeley a Statement of Intent to Register, the formal acceptance of the admission offer. Students placed on the wait list had until April 15 to accept the offer to be placed on that list. Campus officials will start pulling from that list and offering admission after May 1; the process will conclude by June 1.

Many students who decide to enroll at UC Berkeley can expect good news on the financial aid front. UC Berkeley continues to expand its Middle Class Access Plan (MCAP) by raising the maximum income for eligibility from $140,000 to $150,000. For eligible U.S. students, the program caps their parents’ contribution toward the total annual cost of an education (standard tuition and fees; room and board; books, etc.) at 15 percent of the parents’ total income.

In addition, the Blue and Gold program offered by the UC system provides financial aid for eligible California families with incomes up to $80,000.

UC Berkeley’s admissions process evaluates student applicants based on a host of factors including academic accomplishments, leadership skills, persistence and how students took advantage of the opportunities available to them or overcame obstacles they faced. Every application is read and evaluated. Students were notified of admissions decisions on March 27.

For more detailed data on the 2014-15 admitted class, see the UC Berkeley admissions charts , which show combined data for California residents and non-residents. Additional charts on the UC systemwide website include statistics from all UC campuses and generally are focused on California residents.