UC San Diego receives record number of applications for fall 2012 semester

City News Service

UC San Diego received a record number of applications from high school seniors and prospective transfer students for the fall 2012 semester, the school reported today.

The 60,785 freshman applications were a record, up 13.8 percent over last year. The total of 75,968 overall applications was also a record.

The number of applications from transfer hopefuls, 15,183, was down 11 percent, according to UCSD.

The mean high school grade-point average is 3.76; the average GPA among transfer applicants is 3.33.

“We’re pleased to receive another record number of applications from highly qualified students from all backgrounds and cultures,” said Mae Brown, assistant vice chancellor and director of admissions at UCSD. “It’s especially exciting to see more California residents applying.”

UCSD received the second most applications from high school students within the state of any campus in the University of California system. UC officials have been blasted in recent years for accepting more out-of-state students, who make higher tuition payments, to make up for reductions in state funding.

Diversity also increased, with around 2,800 application from African- American high school students, up 28 percent over last year, and nearly 3,000 Latinos, up 15 percent.

The UC system as a whole received a record number of applications, nearly 161,000.