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Thursday, April 15, 2010

Battling for a Spot | City on a Hill Press

Battling for a Spot | City on a Hill Press

Battling for a Spot

By Dana Burd

City on a Hill Press Reporter

Illustration by Rachel Edelstein.

Illustration by Rachel Edelstein.

UC Office of the President (UCOP) recently said that an increase in selectivity across most campuses made admissions the most competitive in UC history this year.

UCOP released admittance information for the fall 2010 California resident freshman class on April 14.

A projected 18.5 percent of California public high school graduates applied to UCs, an amount up 5.5 percent since 2008. Systemwide, 71.6 percent of California resident students who applied for fall 2010 were admitted, down slightly from 72.5 percent in 2009.

Susan Wilbur, director of undergraduate admissions for the UC, said that a lack of state funding for enrollment increases — along with a current over-enrollment of 15,000 — contributed to the necessity for enrollment cutbacks.

“The UC remains committed to enrolling as many California students as we are funded for,” Wilbur said.

Students have been encouraged to apply to as many UCs as possible.

“With increased selectivity on many of the campuses students were encouraged to apply broadly to increase