The University of California, Davis, has offered admission to about 22,000 students for fall 2013, a group that promises to be the most academically competitive freshman class in the institution’s history.

Of these, about 5,100 are expected to enroll in the fall.

The campus had 55,895 freshman applications from which to make its offers this year.

“We look forward to welcoming a new freshman class, a group of students who truly represent the best and brightest of their generation,” said Adela de la Torre, interim vice chancellor for Student Affairs. “A UC Davis education will put them on a path to become tomorrow’s leaders, innovators and thinkers — the ones who will solve society’s most pressing problems and create new possibilities for our future.”

The admissions decisions reflect UC Davis’ long-range plan to add 5,000 new undergraduates by 2020 — including substantial increases in national and international students and modest gains in the number of California residents compared with 2011.

Among the total offers of admission, 16,942 offers went to California residents.

The proportion of historically underserved California students remained stable. Among those admitted this year, 22.7 percent are American Indian, African American or Hispanic/Latino, versus 21.1 percent last year.

“Our commitment to maintaining access for California residents remains as strong as it always has been,” said Lora Jo Bossio, associate vice chancellor of Student Affairs. “Last year's efforts to encourage admitted California students to enroll were so successful that the campus exceeded its California enrollment goal for fall 2012 by 330 students. As a result, UC Davis offered admission to 1,980 fewer California students this year, which we project will yield an enrollment of about 230 fewer California freshmen this year, balancing last year’s over-enrollment.”

Because national and international students historically accept admission offers at a much lower rate than Californians, offers to those students were increased in order to meet enrollment targets.

UC Davis offered admission to 1,838 national and 3,218 international students, an increase of 24.3 percent and 50.6 percent, respectively, over the previous year.

The 2020 Initiative, first proposed by UC Davis Chancellor Linda P.B. Katehi in fall 2011, is intended to build on the institution’s excellence, create a more diverse community of scholars, and allow the campus to achieve financial stability beyond that achievable with current levels of investment from the state.

In other highlights:

• At UC Davis and across the UC system, freshman applications increased. Applications to UC Davis increased by 13.1 percent and systemwide by 10.6 percent.
• For the UC system as a whole, the acceptance rate decreased to 59.2 percent. At UC Davis, this rate fell to 39.4 percent due to increased demand for a UC Davis education, which reflects the campus’s increasing prestige and competitiveness.
• About 32.8 percent of California students admitted to UC Davis are from families where neither parent earned a four-year degree, compared with 32.2 percent last year.
• Eighteen percent of California students admitted to UC Davis are from schools with very low academic performance indexes, versus 18.1 percent last year.
• About 28.9 percent of California residents admitted to UC Davis are from low-income families, compared with 29.4 percent last year.

UC Davis uses a holistic review process in which every application is evaluated according to 14 criteria designed to select applicants who have an excellent prospect of success, are likely to thrive on the campus, and will enhance UC Davis' intellectual and cultural diversity.

Admitted freshmen must submit a Statement of Intent to Register by May 1.

All nine UC undergraduate campuses are releasing data on fall 2013 freshman admissions today.