Welcome Week

UC Irvine is welcoming new students this week with fun events and activities, including a midnight “back to school” shopping trip to Target, a chance to break the dodgeball world record, an evening concert in Aldrich Park and a rally in support of the men’s soccer team. The festivities will give students a chance to make friends and explore the campus before the rigors of the academic quarter kick in.

It’s an impressive cohort of newcomers: There were a record 70,000-plus applicants to UCI for fall 2012. From this group, 5,175 freshmen and 1,810 transfer students were admitted. Here, courtesy of the Office of Admissions & Relations with Schools, are a few facts and figures about them:

• 86 percent of freshmen are California residents. 14 percent are from out of state and around the globe, demonstrating a growing international interest in UCI as a campus of first choice.
• Times Higher Education’s recent ranking of UCI as fourth worldwide among universities less than 50 years old is further evidence of our global appeal.
• 91 percent of incoming transfer students are California residents.
• The average freshman GPA is 3.89, compared with 3.87 last year.
• Freshmen show strong interest in newer academic programs, including business administration, computer game science, public health and biology/education.
• 32 percent of in-state freshmen are from underrepresented minority groups: 3.6 percent are African American, compared with 2.9 percent last year; and 22.8 percent are Chicano, compared with 20.4 percent last year.
• 41 percent of freshmen are from low-income backgrounds, a testament to the University of California’s commitment to accessibility – as demonstrated by aid programs such as the Blue & Gold Opportunity Plan – and the availability of federal and state aid programs.
• 53 percent of freshmen are the first in their family to pursue a four-year degree.
• The average GPA of incoming transfer students is 3.43, compared with 3.40 last year.
• Transfer students show strong interest in newer academic programs, including business administration, public health and pharmaceutical sciences.
• 23.6 percent of transfer students are from underrepresented minority groups.
• 55 percent of transfer students are the first in their family to pursue a four-year degree.