University of California Accepts Record Number of Californians, Except at Elite Campuses

The University of California’s Berkeley and Los Angeles campuses reported a drop in 2025 in-state student admission offers.

A student walks toward Royce Hall on the University of California–Los Angeles campus on March 11, 2020. Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images

The University of California (UC) admitted a record number of California students for the fall, except at the system’s most exclusive campuses in Berkeley and Los Angeles, according to 2025 admissions data published on July 28.

The gains were attributed to significantly more offers by the system’s Merced and Riverside campuses. The Davis and Santa Cruz campuses also picked up more in-state student admissions, but to a lesser degree.

However, this year’s increases were offset by decreases among in-state offers at the university system’s elite campuses in Los Angeles and Berkeley.

“We continue to experience significant growth—a clear indication that Californians recognize the value of a UC degree,” UC President Michael Drake said in a statement. “Our latest admissions numbers demonstrate that families across our state recognize that UC degrees prepare students for a lifetime of meaningful contributions in their communities and far beyond.”

The university system admitted nearly 101,000 first-year California students, its largest class to date, officials reported.

Seventy-seven percent of all first-year students admitted were California residents, up from 70 percent in 2024.

Overall, the university system accepted nearly 150,000 first-year students—including California residents and nonresidents—from a pool of 205,348 applicants. This is an increase of 9 percent from 2024, according to officials.

However, admissions for California first-year students were substantially lower for the UC–Berkeley and UC–Los Angeles (UCLA) campuses compared with the other campuses, according to data.

UC–Berkeley admitted nearly 9,900 in-state students—a drop of 8 percent from 2024—and UCLA admitted nearly 8,600 California residents—a decrease of 2.4 percent from last year.

UC–Merced accepted nearly 17,500 more first-year Californians than in 2024 for a total of 42,000—a 72 percent increase. UC–Riverside also reported a huge jump, accepting about 17,000 more in-state students—or 46 percent more—than in 2024, for a total of nearly 54,000.

UC–Davis admitted nearly 26,000 California residents, UC–Irvine offered admissions to nearly 19,000, UC–San Diego admitted nearly 22,000, UC–Santa Barbara admitted nearly 24,000, and UC–Santa Cruz admitted more than 37,000.

Public Pressure

The increase follows political pressure from lawmakers to offer more spots to California residents, as well as a deal with Gov. Gavin Newsom. The governor agreed to enroll more of the students in exchange for annual budget increases.

The system guarantees first-year admission to a UC campus to students in California who reach the top 9 percent of students at their high school, or top 9 percent of students in the state, without considering standardized test scores.

“Creating pathways to a UC education for a wide range of top California students yields benefits not only for those students, but for the state at large,” said Han Mi Yoon-Wu, the university system’s associate vice provost and executive director for undergraduate admissions. “We are proud to offer these exceptional young people a place at the University of California.”

The University of California–Berkeley campus in Berkeley, Calif., on July 22, 2020. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

The system also offered admission to nearly 28,000 students from the California Community Colleges system, a nearly 6 percent jump over last year.

The university system also made admission offers to nearly 3,300 more international students than in 2024—a 17 percent increase “due to rising uncertainty of their likelihood of enrolling,” the university reported.

The percentage of nonresident and international students who accept an admission offer and choose to enroll is substantially lower than the percentage of in-state students who accept offers, according to officials.

The Trump administration criticized higher education institutions and their emphasis on foreign student admissions early in President Donald Trump’s second term.

The administration is involved in investigations of Stanford University and the UC system, including a review of the admissions policies at UC–Berkeley, UCLA, and UC–Irvine, to ensure that the campuses are in compliance with the 2023 Supreme Court decision banning the use of race in admissions.

“President Trump and I are dedicated to ending illegal discrimination and restoring merit-based opportunity across the country,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement. “Every student in America deserves to be judged solely based on their hard work, intellect, and character, not the color of their skin.”

In the administration’s latest move, the U.S. Department of Education’s civil rights office opened investigations into five universities over scholarships alleged to exclude U.S.-born students.

The probes, announced on July 23, target the University of Louisville, the University of Nebraska–Omaha, the University of Miami, the University of Michigan, and Western Michigan University.

Trump has also asked the State Department to suspend international visas for new students at Harvard University to prevent any new Harvard students from entering the United States as nonimmigrants under student, vocational, and exchange visitor visas.

The United States also revoked certain student visas over national security concerns in May.