Enrollment at UC Davis continues to grow, with a total of 25,092 students enrolled this fall--226 more than enrolled last year. The campus had anticipated an even higher final count, but a dip in the number of transfer students and a faster-than-expected graduation pace for some students modified this fall's rate of growth. The final fall figure of 25,092 is 381 fewer than projected. New freshman enrollments were 24 more than expected; new transfer students, 109 fewer than anticipated. Transfer students numbered 1,567 last year, compared to this fall's 1,391 final tally. "We again welcome to campus this year a remarkably highly qualified group of young people who join us to pursue their academic interests and prepare themselves to take their places as scholars, professionals and leaders in their communities," said Carol Wall, vice chancellor for student affairs. "The decline in the number of transfer students, however, is of concern. "The community colleges help us to meet the state's expectation that 60 percent of our undergraduates are classified as juniors or seniors, and, in this post-Proposition 209 era, they are a rich source of diversity as we seek to offer access and opportunity to all qualified applicants and to enrich the educational experiences of all our students." UC and the California Community College system have agreed to increase by 33 percent the number of transfer students enrolled at UC by the year 2005, and are substantially increasing efforts to enhance and ease the transfer process. This fall's student body slipped slightly in diversity, with nonwhite ethnic students making up 51.52 percent of all domestic undergraduates, compared to 52.03 percent last fall. Numbers declined among most historically underrepresented groups, with only a modest increase in Chicano students at a time when Chicanos are growing as a proportion of California's population. Also, fewer underrepresented applicants accepted offers of admission this year, contributing to the overall decline. "We are troubled that we are not doing better in drawing underrepresented students to the campus," Wall said. "We are working hard to improve our results through our regional K-12 partnerships, through a new position established with the Los Rios Community College District to track our Early Academic Outreach Program high school students who go on to local community colleges, and through aggressive recruitment efforts in Southern California where large concentrations of underrepresented students are found." Wall noted the campus's progress, though, in encouraging students to carry heavier course loads and to graduate in a more timely manner, helping to make room for the record numbers of UC-eligible applicants expected over the next several years. A profile of this fall's student body: Men account for 45.5 percent of the student population and women, 54.5 percent. About 94 percent are California residents. Another 3 percent are from other parts of the United States, while the remaining 3 percent are international students. The average Scholastic Aptitude Test score for this fall's new freshmen totals 1165, up from last fall's 1149 and 1997's 1162. Their high-school grade point average is 3.73, compared to 3.74 last fall and 3.73 in 1997. On the general campus, 5,467 students are classified as freshmen; 3,174 as sophomores; 5,054 as juniors; 5,698 as seniors; 4 as "limited status"; 63 as teaching credential students; 1,468 as master's or professional degree candidates; and 1,956 as doctoral degree candidates. In the health sciences, 120 are designated as special undergraduates, 33 as master's degree candidates, 85 as doctoral degree candidates, 994 as professional degree candidates, and 709 as interns and residents. In addition, 267 students are enrolled in the Graduate School of Management's working professional MBA program. Of the 5,300 new undergraduates, 3,849 are first-time freshmen and 1,391 are transfer students. The three-quarter average for freshman enrollment is projected to be 4,106 and for seniors, 6,296. Nonwhite ethnic groups comprise 51.52 percent of all domestic undergraduates, down slightly from last fall's 52.03 percent. Of the 19,460 general campus undergraduates, 19,196 are U.S. citizens or permanent residents. The ethnic breakdown among the U.S. students, contrasted with last year's figures (in parentheses), is: Caucasians, 42.99 percent or 8,252 (42.65 percent or 8,145); African American, 2.81 percent or 540 (3.07 percent or 586); American Indian, 0.97 percent or 186 (1.08 percent or 207); Chicano/Mexican American, 6.85 percent or 1,314 (6.84 percent or 1,307); Latino, 3.12 percent or 599 (3.43 percent or 655); Chinese, 15.17 percent or 2,912 (14.94 percent or 2,854); Japanese, 1.99 percent or 382 (2.07 percent or 395); Korean, 2.53 percent or 486 (2.45 percent or 467); Filipino, 4.41 percent or 847 (4.12 percent or 787); Pacific Islander, 0.96 percent or 185 (0.78 percent or 149); Vietnamese, 4.9 percent or 941 (4.63 percent or 884); other Asians, 2.97 percent or 571 (3.94 percent or 753); East Indian/Pakistani, 2.46 percent or 473 (2.33 percent or 445); other ethnicities, 2.37 percent or 454 (2.35 percent or 448); and 5.50 percent or 1,054 (5.32 percent or 1,017) did not state ethnicity. Comparison of Actual Fall Quarter Enrollments Fall 1998 Fall 1999 Undergraduate Colleges/Divisions 19,343 19,460 Ag & Environmental Sciences 4,765 4,899 Engineering 2,717 2,729 Letters & Science 8,438 8,430 Division of Biological Sciences 3,359 3,339 Division of Education 64 63 Graduate Studies 2,672 2,788 Professional Schools 2,851 2,844 Grad. School of Management 396* 390** Law 505 513 Medicine 1,271 1,255 Veterinary Medicine 679 686 TOTAL 24,866 25,092 *Includes 278 students in the working professional MBA program. **Includes 267 students in the working professional MBA program.