UC Davis: UC Davis Admits Record Number of New Undergraduates for Fall 2021

The University of California, Davis, offered freshman and transfer admission status for fall 2021 to a record 52,254 applicants — including an all-time high of 31,772 California residents.

The total number of new students admitted for undergraduate study represents a 14 percent increase compared with last year, according to statistics released July 19 by the university system.

From a record 105,850 applicants, UC Davis admitted 52,254 students, and based on acceptance of those offers of admission, the campus estimates it will enroll about 10,800 students this fall.

After offering mostly remote instruction since spring quarter 2020, UC Davis is preparing to welcome students back to campus for in-person instruction starting Sept. 22 for the fall quarter. The Campus Ready website provides information on plans for instruction and student services; public health protocols; Covid-19 vaccination and testing; and more.

California residents
The campus admitted 31,772 California freshman and transfer applicants. Overall, 12,733 international and 7,749 U.S. out-of-state applicants were admitted.

California residents accept offers of admission and actually enroll at higher rates than U.S. domestic and international students, and that is expected to be even more the case because of the lingering pandemic.

The enrollment of nonresident undergraduates — new and continuing — is not expected to exceed the 18 percent cap that the UC Board of Regents established in 2017 for UC Davis and four other campuses. In fact, UC Davis has enrolled the most California resident undergraduates of all UC campuses since fall 2010.

Diversity and other measures
The proportion of those identifying themselves as being from historically underrepresented groups — African American, American Indian, Chicano/Latino and Pacific Islander — remained steady at about 31 percent among those admitted as California freshmen and as transfers from California Community Colleges.

Among admitted California residents who reported the following demographic information, about 39 percent would be in the first generation of their family to graduate from a four-year university, and 41 percent are from low-income families.

From admissions to enrollment
From among those offered admission, a smaller number will accept those offers and, with some changing plans over the summer, fewer will enroll.

For example, the campus received more than 94,800 freshman and transfer applications for fall 2020 and offered admission to 45,574 applicants. Those who enrolled numbered 9,241.

Total fall enrollment — including undergraduate, graduate, professional students, and 1,000 interns and residents — at all locations is expected to be approximately 41,200. UC Davis also tracks student population as a three-quarter average for implementing the 2018 Long Range Development Plan (LRDP) forecast of 39,000 students at the Davis campus. Estimates indicate the LRDP three-quarter average will be approximately 37,000 students for the 2021-22 academic year.