A record-high number of students were admitted for the fall quarter of the 2025-2026 school year by the University of California (UC) higher education system.
Of an undergraduate applicant pool of 205,348 new students, 149,368 were accepted. This year also saw the highest number of in-state students, with 100,947 incoming university undergraduates. Transfer students from California Community Colleges (CCC) — who make up almost one-third of UC students — saw an increase of 5.9%, yielding 27,845 admission offers.
At UC Irvine, 124,230 first-year students applied and 35,661 were admitted, resulting in an admission rate of 28.7%. Transfer students had an admission rate of 39.5%. Of the 25,352 transfer applicants this fall, 10,011 were offered admission.
This fall’s record number of admitted students in UC history stems from multiple factors; the graduation of the large and previous all-time high admitted undergraduate class of 2021, the minimized use of waitlists and, notably, the state-wide goal of boosting graduation rates.
By 2030, the UC system hopes to reach a 90% graduation rate, an increase from the current 86% rate and the national 62% rate. Retention is a big concern, specifically for students from underrepresented groups who have historically seen barriers in receiving and completing a degree.
The UC has been tracking student progress for this goal since 2018, noting graduation rates for Pell grant recipients, first-generation students, and Black, Latinx and Native American students.
“UC is on track to produce 1.2M undergraduate and graduate degree holders by 2030 — a 20% increase between 2015 and 2030,” reads the UC site.
For UCI’s most recent graduating class, first-year students were one percent below the 76% graduation rate goal and transfers were on track at their 70% graduation rate.
University of California, Los Angeles had the highest graduation rate of the nine schools, with a first-year graduation rate of 87% and a transfer graduation rate of 76%. University of California, Merced had the lowest graduation rate for first-years and transfer students at 47% and 52%, respectively.
Individual universities may start to see changes on campus with this higher number of students admitted, specifically with class sizes.
Generally, courses with fewer students are seen as more tailored and individualized with regard to assignments and discussions.
According to a study on how school and class sizes affect a student’s school preparedness, smaller class sizes allow for an increase in “the likelihood of meeting each student’s requirements and concerns.”
Incoming UCI student Isabelle Mejia-Berganza is majoring in criminology, law and society. When committing to UCI, small class sizes were not a factor for the new Anteater.
“I actually prefer bigger classes,” Mejia-Berganza told New University. “I feel it gives more opportunities to socialize. When I applied to all my schools I didn’t particularly think about the number of admitted students.”
Mia Jasmine Chan, an incoming business administration student, elaborated on the class-size discourse.
“I definitely prefer smaller classes,” Chan told New University. “But this preference wasn’t in consideration when I applied for schools as I focused more on what was best for my major.”
Former UC President Dr. Michael Drake — who stepped down at the end of July — released a letter from his office where he stated the increase in applicants across California signifies that Golden State residents recognize the value in the higher education system.
“This year’s admissions data reflects UC’s continued commitment to honoring the California Master Plan for Higher Education by guaranteeing first-year admission to a UC campus to students in the top 9 percent of their high school or top 9 percent of the state without considering standardized test scores,” stated the letter.
Cassandra Nava is a 2024-2025 Layout Editor. She can be reached at cassan2@uci.edu.
Edited By Peyton Arthur
