UC Davis sees record number of applicants for fall quarter for second consecutive year

A record number of prospective students applied to UC Davis for the fall quarter, though total applications decreased slightly across the University of California system, according to statistics released Wednesday by university officials.

For the second consecutive year, UC Davis saw a rise in applications, with 120,131 hopeful Aggies vying for admission for this upcoming fall quarter, according to a news release from UC Davis. The number of applications systemwide ticked down by 0.5%, with 249,824 aspiring pupils, the UC said.

First-year applicants at UC Davis grew to 102,958, or a 4.2% increase over the previous high of 98,834 prospective students seeking admittance for fall 2024. New transfer applications totaled 17,173 this year at the university, an approximate 4% increase from last year which totaled 16,515 hopefuls, according to UC Davis.

Categories in which the number of applicants increased included California residents, out-of-state candidates, international students and what the university called historically underrepresented groups.

California residents who filed a UC Davis application this year totaled 83,615, up more than 1.6% from last year. This group accounted for 67% of all first-year applicants and 88% of all transfer applicants at the university, according to UC Davis.

UC Davis said applicants from historically underrepresented groups increased slightly from last fall by the following amounts: Pacific Islander (5.8%); Hispanic and Latino (3.6%); African American (1.3%); and American Indian (0.4%).

Prospective Aggies will learn if they have been selected to attend the fall quarter by mid-March for freshmen and mid-to-late April for transfer students, UC Davis said.

Last year, UC Davis admitted about 42.1% of first-year students and nearly 59% of transfer students, according to the UC system.

This story was originally published February 12, 2025 at 4:39 PM.