UC sees increase in first-generation college students and community college transfers

 

POSTED ON Jul 26, 2021

 

The University of California (UC) has announced that Hispanic/Latino/Latina/Latinx students made up the largest ethnic group of admitted California freshmen for a second time, up nearly 9 percent to 31,220 from 28,662, following the previous record in 2020.

Students from historically underrepresented groups in higher education comprise 43 percent of admitted California freshmen, the highest proportion of an incoming undergraduate class and the greatest number in UC history at 36,462.

According to UC, the campuses with the greatest annual overall year-over-year freshman admission gains include UC Davis up 19.2 percent (42,726 from 35,838), UC Irvine up 6.9 percent (31,261 from 29,245), and UC San Diego up 6 percent (40,616 from 38,305). (Photo UCSD campus)

Admission of California freshmen who would be first-generation college students held steady at 45 percent.

UC also said in the statement that it had admitted the largest-ever class of California Community College transfer students, notching up to 28,453 from 28,074, a year-over-year increase of 1.35 percent.

UC San Diego had the highest number of community college transfers (11,358), an increase of nearly 4 percent. The vast majority of these transfer students are California residents (25,700). Notably, 53 percent will be the first in their family to earn a four-year college degree.

In related news, San Diego State University, the third-oldest university in the 23-member California State University system, announced that more seats for “gateway” courses, a new set of courses geared towards incoming first-year and transfer students, and the chance to earn a minor a leadership are some of the steps taken by SDSU to help students graduate on time.

According to San Diego State News (SDSN), more than 10,530 students have enrolled in summer sessions, the second straight summer in which enrollment has topped 10,000, SDSN said.

Since 2019, the university has featured a mix of both in-person and online classes.

Speaking to SDSN, Stefan Hyman, associate vice president for enrollment management, said the university expects to restore in-person courses to the schedule in summer 2022 – along with “many opportunities for social engagement.”