SUBJECT:

UCSD Announces 1998 Freshmen Admissions Data

Members of the UCSD Community:

Today we are releasing to the news media the results of UCSD's 1998
freshmen admissions process. The data is of public interest because this
is the first year that the University of California's undergraduate
admissions decisions did not include affirmative action criteria. The news
release which follows details the admissions results for UCSD.

Joseph W. Watson Vice Chancellor, Student Affairs

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    UCSD ANNOUNCES 1998 FRESHMEN ADMISSIONS DATA

   Freshmen applications to the University of California, San Diego
rose 11.5% over 1997, a trend that reflects increased applications from all
racial and ethnic groups. However, in the absence of affirmative action
considerations in the University of California's new admissions policy,
UCSD admitted fewer under- represented students this year than last.

   Applications for Fall freshmen admission to UCSD rose to an
historic high of 28,002. Under the new admissions policy, UCSD admitted
13,041 freshmen, whose aggregate characteristics rank them as the most
academically prepared pool of admitted students in UCSD's history. The
admitted freshmen's mean high school Grade Point Average (GPA) is 3.99*;
their average composite Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) score is 1,294.
These characteristics place UCSD's admitted freshmen in the top 5% of
graduating seniors in the state.

  Admitted students have until May 1, 1998 to declare whether they will
attend UCSD. Since many students admitted to UCSD also are accepted by UC
Berkeley, UCLA, and other highly-selective colleges across the nation, UCSD
projects that of the 13,041 freshmen it admitted, 3,000 will enroll.

  Applications from ethnic groups that are underrepresented in the UCSD
student body – in comparison to their population in the state – rose 13.5%
over 1997. A total of 3,027 African-American, Mexican-American, and
Native-American high school seniors applied; 965 were admitted. This is a
40% decrease from the number of underrepresented students admitted in 1997.
(If the 1997 admissions criteria had been used in 1998's selection
process, there would have been an 8% increase this year over the 1997
admission numbers for underrepresented students.)

  Under UCSD's new criteria, admissions decisions about 60% of the freshmen
class are based solely upon such benchmarks of academic achievement as GPA,
SAT scores, and completion of Advanced Placement and Honors courses.
Selection of the remaining 40% of the class is based upon academic
achievement, plus factors including leadership, community/volunteer
service, special talents and achievements, San Diego or Imperial county
residency, and socio-economic background.

  UCSD Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs, Dr. Joseph Watson, reflected on
the 1998 admissions data. "We are very pleased at the quality of
applicants who select UCSD; each year they represent a higher level of
talent and achievement than the previous year. These are students who are
well prepared for the rigorous academic experience that UCSD will offer
them. However, we are deeply disappointed in the decreased numbers of
underrepresented students admitted, and the consequent decline in the
racial diversity of our admitted class.

  "Our goal, now, is to get this outstanding group of admitted students to
accept our admissions offer, and enroll at UCSD. We are taking an
aggressive approach to this task, reaching out to all of our admits in as
personal a manner as possible."

  Included in this effort will be telephone calls to admitted students from
UCSD students and admissions counselors; home visits; high school visits;
and invitations to overnight visits at the campus. These activities will
culminate in two major outreach programs – a reception in San Francisco for
Bay-area admitted students and their families, and a campus-based effort –
Admit Day. All admitted students and their families will be welcomed and
hosted at this April 4, 1998 event by representatives of UCSD's five
undergraduate colleges, departments, faculty, and Admissions and Outreach
staff.

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*on a scale in which an "A" grade in an honors course is weighted as a 5.