The University of California, Davis, continues to attract high numbers of applicants for undergraduate study. For fall 2023, a total of 109,350 students have applied — just 0.8% shy of the record high set last year.
The UC Office of the President released systemwide and campus statistics today (Feb. 24). Read the UC-wide news release.
Among the UC Davis applicants, 94,609 applied for first-year admission and 14,741 applied for transfer admission.
California residents and transfer students
Robert Penman, executive director of Undergraduate Admissions, said the campus aims to enroll an entering class of about 9,400 new undergraduates, up about 200 from fall 2022. Plans call for almost all of that increase to come from among California residents.
California residents applying to be first-year students at UC Davis numbered 65,109 and account for 68.8% of all first-year applicants. A total of 13,004 California residents applied for transfer admission and represent 88.2% of all transfer applicants.
Penman said UC Davis is a leader in transfer education and remains committed to the UC systemwide goal of enrolling one new resident transfer student for every two new resident freshmen.
Other demographics
The proportions of applicants from historically underrepresented groups (African American, American Indian, Chicano/Latino and Pacific Islander) remained relatively steady. Among California residents who applied for first-year status, they represent 36%; among U.S. domestic applicants from California Community Colleges, they account for 33%. In these specific categories of applicants, the number of American Indians increased from 448 to 512.
Among California freshman and California Community College transfer applicants, 42% are from low-income families, and 39% would be in the first generation of their family to graduate from a four-year college.
Overall, applications from U.S. states other than California grew 5.8% to 11,703, while international applications numbered 19,534, a 4.1% decrease from last year.
More about the numbers
Undergraduate Admissions is now evaluating applications and plans to notify applicants of admissions decisions for first-year status in mid-March and for transfer status in mid- to late April. Students are encouraged to file a Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, or California Dream Act Application. The priority deadline for state and university grant consideration is March 2 for the 2023-24 academic year.
The university will offer admission to fewer students than those who applied, and a smaller number of students will accept those offers and join the fall 2023 entering class.
Fall 2022 numbers
Last year, the campus received 94,725 first-year applications and 15,464 transfer applications for a total of 110,189. UC Davis offered admission to 35,563 first-year and 9,098 transfer applicants. The fall 2022 entering class that enrolled numbered 9,194, including 6,498 new first-years and 2,696 transfer students.
While most students are associated with the campus in Davis, some of its total fall 2022 enrollment of 40,772 students — including undergraduate, graduate and professional students — were enrolled in programs at locations outside of Davis, such as the Sacramento campus.
UC Davis measures its Davis-based enrollment as an average over the three regular academic quarters for its 2018 Long Range Development Plan, or LRDP, which has a projected capacity of 39,000 students for the Davis campus. Early estimates indicate enrollment will average about 37,000 for the 2022-23 academic year.