UCSD Receives Record Number of Applications

UC San Diego received a record 89,169 applications from prospective freshmen and transfer students, the school announced Friday.

The total, the third highest among University of California campuses, included 73,356 freshman applications for fall 2014, up 8.8 percent from last year. Transfer applications jumped 5.8 percent from the year before to 15,813.

"UC San Diego's global reputation as an academic powerhouse has attracted many talented and well-qualified students," said Chancellor Pradeep Khosla. "Our rankings as one of the top universities in the world are testament to why UC San Diego continues to enroll the best and the brightest students from all backgrounds."

The mean grade point average for high school applicants was 3.79, up 0.02 from the previous year, according to UCSD. College board test scores were also higher.

UCSD reported that the portion of freshman applications from historically under-represented students climbed by 6.1 percent.

The most popular majors chosen by freshman applicants were engineering, biology and the social sciences.

Almost half of the transfer applications were from social science majors. Other selected majors among transfers include engineering, science and math.

About 90 percent of the transfer applications were from in-state community college students.

The UC system overall saw an increase in applications of 4.9 percent, to 183,272. Prospective freshman applications were up 6.2 percent, but transfers slipped by 0.5 percent.