Record low acceptance rates for locals.
By Raif Karerat
WASHINGTON, DC: Fewer resident Californians gained acceptance to the University of California system as applications reach a new high, while a record number of students from other countries and states received offers of admission, according to a new report from the Los Angeles Times.
About 60 percent of the 103,117 California applicants were offered a spot on at least one of UC’s nine undergraduate campuses, according to university figures released Thursday. That appears to be a record low acceptance rate, down from about 63 percent of the 99,955 applicants last year, and about 79 percent in 1999, the oldest available system-wide figures.
Among ethnic groups in California, Asian Americans earned the largest share of UC freshman admission offers, 36.3 percent, up from 36 percent last year, and their percentages were above 40 percent at several universities, including the ultra-competitive campuses of UCLA, Irvine and Berkeley.
Latinos were next, constituting 29.6 percent of those admitted, up from 28.9 percent last year when, for the first time, they surpassed the share of accepted applicants who are white.
White students comprised 25.4 percent of the acceptances, down from 26.7 percent, while African Americans remained at 4.3 percent.
While the UC system is facing pressure from Gov. Jerry Brown and the State Legislature to significantly increase the enrollment of both California freshman and transfer students for fall 2016, UC Irvine spokeswoman Cathy Lawhon said that there is room on campus for more students but state funding won’t accommodate more Californians, as nonresidents with higher tuitions cover costs more effectively.
“Even if we took no more out-of-state and international students, we would not be able to take more Californians,” she said.
1 Comment
Putting aside head counts and countries of origins, let’s face it, being
an international student isn’t easy, given our complex culture and language.
Assistance must come from numerous sources to aid these young people embarking
on life’s journey.
A new award-winning worldwide book/ebook that aids anyone coming to the US is “What Foreigners Need To Know About America From A To Z: How to Understand Crazy American Culture, People, Government, Business, Language and More.” It is used in
foreign Fulbright student programs and endorsed worldwide by ambassadors,
educators, and editors. It also identifies “foreigners” who became successful
in the US and how they contributed to our society, including students.
A chapter on education explains how to be
accepted to an American university and cope with a confusing new culture,
friendship process and daunting classroom differences. Some stay after
graduation. It has chapters that explain how US businesses operate and how to
get a job (which differs from most countries), a must for those who want to
work for an American firm here or overseas.
It also has chapters that identify the most common English grammar and speech problems foreigners have and tips for easily overcoming them, the number one stumbling block they say they have to succeeding here.
Most struggle in their efforts and need guidance from schools’ international departments,
immigration protection, host families, concerned neighbors and fellow students, and books like this to extend a cultural helping hand so we all have a win-win situation. Good luck to all wherever you study!