New freshmen give the zot cheer at convocation at the Bren Center at UCI Steve Zylius/UCI

Irvine, Calif., July 11, 2018 — The University of California, Irvine will be bustling in September. The campus has offered admission to more than 36,000 freshmen and transfer students for the fall 2018 quarter while advancing the academic excellence, extracurricular engagement and diversity of the admissions pool.

Nearly 45 percent of California residents offered admission are first-generation students, emblematic of UCI’s strong commitment to being an engine of social mobility for qualified individuals from nontraditional and disadvantaged circumstances. In 2017, UCI topped the prestigious New York Times College Access Index as the university “doing the most for the American dream.” And Forbes named UCI No. 4 amongAmerica’s Best Value Colleges in 2018 based on its tuition costs, school quality, graduation rates and postgrad earnings.

“The talented students to whom we offered admission come from all backgrounds, including many who are the first in their families to go to college,” said UCI Chancellor Howard Gillman. “After reviewing a record 116,000 applications, there is no doubt that UCI continues to succeed with its mission to be a first-choice university providing the very best education to the very best students while maintaining accessibility and affordability for California residents.”

The academic profile of UCI’s prospective freshman class this fall is the strongest to date, with the average GPA of admitted California residents being 4.16; for California community college transfer students, it’s 3.52.

Among the highlights:

  • 27,343 freshmen were offered admission.
  • 8,928 transfer students were offered admission.
  • Underrepresented minorities (African American, American Indian and Chicano/Latino) make up 32 percent of California-resident freshmen and transfer students offered admission.

UCI made fewer admission offers this year than it did last year because a higher percentage of California freshmen and transfer students offered admission are expected to enroll at UCI this autumn, compared to previous years. UCI projects 5,800 freshmen and 2,600 new transfer students for the fall 2018 quarter, which begins the week of Sept. 24.

About the University of California, Irvine: Founded in 1965, UCI is the youngest member of the prestigious Association of American Universities. The campus has produced three Nobel laureates and is known for its academic achievement, premier research, innovation and anteater mascot. Led by Chancellor Howard Gillman, UCI has more than 30,000 students and offers 192 degree programs. It’s located in one of the world’s safest and most economically vibrant communities and is Orange County’s second-largest employer, contributing $5 billion annually to the local economy. For more on UCI, visit www.uci.edu.

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