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Berkeleyan

Berkeleyan

More than 10,000 students offered fall 2007 freshman admission

| 12 April 2007

More than 10,000 high-school students have received the happy news that they may attend Berkeley as freshmen next fall, an increase from last year of approximately 370 offers of admission, according to data released by campus admissions officials last week.

In all, 10,213 students, including out-of-state and international students, have been offered admission to the fall 2007 freshman class. The fall 2006 admitted class numbered 9,836. This increase in offers was made to meet enrollment targets for the 2007-08 school year. Campus enrollment fluctuates annually.

The overall makeup of the fall 2007 freshman admitted class shows no significant changes, compared to last year's, in terms of indicators of students' academic accomplishments, socio-economic backgrounds, and other factors. And, as in the past, the accomplishments of the individual students are outstanding.

"Once again, we have maintained our high academic standards, increased diversity, and admitted a class of students that represent a broad cross-section of interests, passions, and talents," says Walter Robinson, director of the Office of Undergraduate Admissions.

This year's admitted class includes a student who danced with a ballet academy in Salzburg, Austria; several nationally ranked debaters; a member of the U.S. Junior Olympic water polo team; a nationally ranked chess player; and several members of a high-school team that won the first place in the American Computer Science League All-Star Contest. The group also includes 44 sets of twins.

Although the number of individual students offered admission to Berkeley increased this year, the admissions rate declined slightly - to 23.2 percent for fall 2007 from 23.6 percent in fall 2006 - because of a 6 percent increase in applications. Robinson attributes the increase in applications to an expected peak in demographics - as children of baby boomers graduate from high school - and outreach efforts by Berkeley staff and students.

A detailed analysis of the new admissions data also shows the following:

. Average parental income remains approximately $80,000, but Berkeley continues to see an increase in admission offers to students whose parental income is below $30,000 (from 1,401 last fall to 1,441 this fall) and to students who have parents who did not attend college.

. Women continue to represent the majority (55 percent) of admitted students, but when comparing fall 2007 and fall 2006 data, the number of men has increased by 225. The number of admitted women increased by 156.

. A comparison of fall 2007 and fall 2006 data shows that offers of admission to Asian American students remain virtually unchanged, increasing by approximately 1 percent to 4,158; and that white students' offers of admission increased by 8 percent, to 3,394. Campus officials noted that applications from white students have increased by approximately 8 percent since 2006.

. The number of admitted underrepresented minority students - African American, American Indian, and Chicano-Latino - increased almost 4 percent to a total of 1,620 students for 2007.

. Students from all but three of the state's counties were offered admission. Few or no students applied from Alpine, Glenn, or Lassen counties.

. The average SAT score and grade-point average of fall 2007 admitted students remain comparable to those of the fall 2006 admitted class: an SAT 1 total score of 2070 and a high-school GPA (4.0 scale) of 3.92. However, Berkeley's admissions process considers all information in a student applicant's file, including how he or she handled challenges and opportunities.

Students were notified on March 29 of Berkeley's admission decisions. Admitted students have until May 1 to submit a statement of intent to register. The campus expects 4,250 new freshmen students to enroll in the fall.

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