UC Berkeley Press Release

Fall 2007 freshman admissions data released

By Janet Gilmore, Media Relations | 05 April 2007

BERKELEY – More than 10,000 high school students have received the happy news that they may attend the University of California, Berkeley as freshmen next fall, an increase from last year of approximately 370 offers of admission, according to data released by campus admissions officials today (Thursday, April 5).

In all, 10,213 students, including out-of-state and international students, have been offered admission to UC Berkeley's 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 when 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 we have admitted a class of students that represent a broad cross-section of interests, passions and talents," said Walter Robinson, director of UC Berkeley's Office of Undergraduate Admissions.

In this year's admitted class is 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 class also includes 44 sets of twins.

Although the number of individual students offered admission to UC Berkeley increased this year, the admissions rate - the number of applicants offered admission - declined slightly because of a 6 percent increase in applications. The admit rate has dropped to 23.2 for fall 2007 from 23.6 in fall 2006.

Robinson attributes the increase in applications to an expected peak in demographics - the children of baby boomers are graduating from high school -- and outreach efforts by UC Berkeley staff and students.

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

• Average parental income remains approximately $80,000, but UC Berkeley continues to see an increase in admission offers to students whose parental income is below $30,000 and to students who have parents who did not attend college. Their numbers have increased to 1,441 for fall 2007 from 1,401 for fall 2006.
• Women continue to represent the majority - 55 percent - of the 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-Latinos - 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 SAT1 total score of 2070 and a high school GPA (4.0 scale) of 3.92. However, UC 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 UC Berkeley's admission decisions. Admitted students have until May 1 to submit to the campus a statement of intent to register. UC Berkeley expects 4,250 new freshmen students to enroll in the fall.

Students are evaluated for admission to UC Berkeley based on a combination of factors including grades, coursework, test scores, how they have handled challenges and opportunities, and indicators of personal characteristics including leadership, motivation and persistence. Additional admissions data is available at: https://newsarchive.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2007/04/05_admits_table.shtml.