The Numbers

You may have seen the headlines about the drop in applications to UC and UCLA. Above are the actual numbers for freshman applications. What appears to have happened is that when the SAT requirement was dropped, applications jumped. But as word got out that it was still hard to get in, they dropped, although not all the way back to 2021 levels.

The transfer applications story, which is dominated by applications from California community colleges, is different since the SAT isn't involved. Community colleges have experienced a big drop in enrollments due to the pandemic and the move during the pandemic to online education. They haven't returned to pre-pandemic levels, so the base from which transfer applications are drawn has gotten smaller.

You can find the data above in more detail by campus at:

https://www.ucop.edu/institutional-research-academic-planning/content-analysis/ug-admissions/ug-pages/applications.html.

Keep in mind that applications, admissions, and enrollments are three separate things. Applications simply start the process.